The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas
by Kioko the pirate
Summary: Lilo and Victoria get invited on the vacation of a lifetime aboard a luxury liner. But soon their relaxation turns to chaos as an unknown enemy reveals themselves. Contains language and some alcohol use. Please Read and Review.
1. The Invite

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 1: The Invite

It was a sunny day on the island of Kauai, the ground was still damp from the previous nights rainstorms, and puddles still dotted the roads, sidewalks and trails of the island. The storms had also left the air feeling muggy, keeping most people in side. But one daring young Hawaiian girl and her alien friend weren't like most people. They took advantage of the lack of tourists and people out and about to do some training in town. This time around they hadn't been practicing spells, instead they had been training their bodies. But now they had realized they had made a big mistake.

The two friends stumbled through the door, Lilo practically kicking in the door trying to get into their air conditioned home. Lilo kicked off her running shoes, flinging them across the room and hurried over to the couch, where she flopped down into the soft cushions with an exhausted sigh. Stitch wasn't far behind, crawling up onto the couch with what little energy he had left, he looked in worse shape then Lilo anyway, fur, heat and humidity don't mix well. The two didn't speak as they huffed and puffed, trying desperately to cool off. After a few minutes the two of them managed to get comfortable.

"You just had to choose today to go running." groaned Stitch as he rubbed his sore legs.

Lilo looked over at the experiment out of the corner of her eye. "Hey, don't blame me. You're the one who wanted to train everyday."

It had been about a month and a half since the incident with Trey and Lilo and Stitch had been training even harder then before. Through all weather and conditions they had been spending the majority of their time on their training ground or doing other physical training around town. All of this didn't please Nani though; watching her sister come home on the verge of collapse almost every day drove her nuts. How ever she did not see all the good that was coming from it. In just a month and a half the duo had learned two new spells and had even added another victory against an experiment in that time. They now felt even more formidable, especially Stitch, who was constantly showing off his increasing strength around the house.

"I know, I know," sighed Stitch as he wiped the sweat from his furry brow. "But I'm still not to where I want to be, I'm starting to doubt that this training is doing any significant good."

Lilo looked over at her friend like he was crazy. "You've got to be kidding, Stitch, we've gained two new spells, we defeated that elastic experiment and you practically beat him with just your own muscle. How can you not call that progress?"

"I—I just don't feel strong enough yet. Yes I'm stronger then I was before but I just don't think I'm at a high enough level to take on the really strong experiments." Stitch now began rubbing his paws, plucking a tiny piece of gravel from between his toes. "All the weak experiments are almost gone, now it's just the strong experiments left. Things aren't going to be any easier."

"If all the weak experiments are gone, then only the best are still here and look," Stitch looked over at Lilo, who had a confident and even happy smile on her face. "You're still here," Stitch had to look away as he blushed slightly. "We can handle anything, I have faith in us, Stitch, I do."

Stitch finally looked back at Lilo with a smile of his own stretching across his fuzzy face. "I have faith too, Lilo." Stitch got up, walked across the couch and wrapped his arms around Lilo's neck in a gentle hug.

Lilo hugged the little blue experiment back. "Mmm, the smell of sweaty experiment, smells like wild flowers." smiled Lilo sarcastically as she rested her cheek on his head.

Stitch pulled away with a slightly worried look on his face. "I'm not going to get a bath, right?" Stitch said with a nervous tone to his voice.

Lilo laughed and shook her head. "No, no bath."

Stitch gave a sigh of relief. "Phew, that's good. Hey, you want a drink?" asked Stitch as he hopped off the couch.

"Water would be nice, thank you."

"Right," saluted Stitch as he turned and walked into the kitchen. But suddenly he popped his head around the corner, making Lilo jump slightly. "You sure I'm not going to get a bath?"

Lilo smiled and rolled her eyes. "Yes, I'm sure." Stitch gave a reassured nod and disappeared around the corner. "At least not until tonight." said Lilo quietly to herself.

The girl gave a sigh and grabbed the TV remote off of the end table and turned on the television. She began flipping casually through the different channels, cartoons, sports games, stock market stuff and other shows flashed across the screen for a few moments before Lilo finally settled onto a news channel. A red headed woman sat behind her news desk, staring intently into the camera as she began introducing the next story. Her voice was too professional in Lilo's opinion, her voice was low, much lower then she probably talks when off screen. Her monotone voice just made everything sound boring; Lilo doubted that the woman would have any emotion to her voice even if her hair caught fire. But she still found her self listening to the woman.

"Our top story this afternoon is about this nations billionaires and how they spend their vast wealth. One man in particular stands out amongst the rest tonight; Charles Vandercamp. The son of the late Henry Vandercamp and owner of the worlds largest oil company has recently announced the completion of his latest top-secret project," A tiny picture of a ship appeared in the upper right hand corner of the screen. "What he is calling a floating city."

At that moment Lilo looked over to see Nani strolling into the room and stopping near the doorframe. "Well I see you and Stitch are back, how was your day of training?" asked Nani with a surprisingly calm voice.

"It was exhausting, it's so humid out there we practically swam around the town. Speaking of Stitch, what's taking you so long in there?" shouted Lilo toward the kitchen.

"I'm trying to get the ice out of these dang trays!" there was a sudden snap and crack, a single ice cube slid into the living room stopping on the rug. "Never mind, I got the ice."

Lilo looked back toward the TV and so did Nani. "What are you watching?" asked Nani casually.

"They're just talking about some rich guy and his fancy boat." said Lilo with a disgusted and bored sigh.

"Mr.Vandercamp plans on launching his latest investment from the Hawaiian island of Oahu late next week. The enormous ship, which has been named 'World 1', will take its first passengers on a two week trip around the Pacific Ocean before returning to Oahu. However, Mr.Vandercamp has been taking fire from local eco-groups, claiming that the ship will disrupt the delicate ocean life and will further the polluting of our oceans with the waste that will be generated during the two week voyage. Mr.Vandercamp had this to say."

The screen flipped to a picture of a refined looking man standing behind a podium littered with microphones. The man had a thick head of faded gold hair, molded with so much hair gel that it looked fake. His cheekbones bulged out from his face, reminding Lilo of a Hammerhead shark. He had a heavy cleft chin that he kept raised as he spoke. He had narrow bluish-grey eyes that made trusting him seem impossible. He wore a very neatly kept grey suit with a red tie as well.

"I promise to all that my ship is at the peak of eco-friendly technology. I've spent hundreds if not thousands of hours with my engineers making sure that the 'World 1' brings no harm to our beautiful planet. I didn't spend millions of dollars to create a danger to our oceans, I spent that money to create the worlds greatest resort, the worlds first floating resort!" the man lifted his arms in the air in a proud fashion as he was bombarded with flashes from cameras.

The screen switched back to the newswoman. "Tickets for this monumental cruise will be nearly impossible to find or even afford for most, only the wealthiest are expected to arrive for the first sailing. Mr.Vandercamp, however, has already mailed out at least a hundred free tickets randomly to people across the nation, in a show of kind generosity. At the same time a rash of concerns over fake tickets is spreading through out the country, we'll show you how to spot these fake tickets tonight at 11:00."

Stitch was now sitting next to Lilo with a cold glass of water in his and her hands. Lilo rolled her eyes as she turned off the TV, disgusted by the whole thing. "Kind generosity my butt, rich guys like him wouldn't know generosity if it jumped up and slapped them across their snooty faces." Lilo took a sip of water and set it down on the end table. "I actually feel sorry for whoever gets one of those 'free' tickets. They'll probably be stuffed into cheap rooms in the bowels of the ship and kept out of the way of the high society folk."

Nani gave a small laugh as she looked at her sister. "Now you can't tell me that you'd be thinking that if you got one of those tickets?"

"Oh yes I would, I wouldn't go even if I got ten free tickets. I don't want anything to do with those stuck up tight wads."

"Right, besides, we don't have time to relax at some resort, we've got to keep training!" cheered Stitch as he raised his glass.

"Right!" agreed Lilo raising her fist in the air.

Nani rolled her eyes; just then the mail slot in the door opened up and a series of letters fell into the house. Nani walked over and grabbed the mail off the floor; she began shuffling through it as she walked over toward the couch. "Let's see, bill, bill, bill, bill, junk, bill, we could be the father of Anna Nicole Smiths baby, bill and junk."

Lilo looked at her sister in apparent disbelief. "How in the world do we rack up so many bills?"

Nani just looked at her and shrugged, suddenly there came a knock at the door. Nani went back to the door and opened it to find the postman standing there with an embarrassed smile on his face.

"Sorry ma'am I almost forgot to give you this," the man handed Nani a large brown envelope. "Well, have a nice day, ma'am."

"You too." responded Nani as she looked at the envelope curiously. She stepped back inside the house and shut the door behind her.

"What is it?" asked Lilo just as curious as her sister.

"I don't know, it doesn't have any company label on it or anything." said Nani as she examined the package.

"Is there anything on it at all?" asked Lilo as she saw her sister pause.

"Yeah—it's addressed to you."

Nani walked over and handed the envelope to her sister, Stitch sniffing it inquisitively as it was exchanged. Lilo looked at the envelope for a moment before slowly ripping one end open.

"Well what is it?" asked Nani anxiously as Lilo pulled a rather thick packet out of the envelope.

Lilo just shrugged and set the packet on her lap before looking in the envelope again. She reached in and pulled out a series of other papers, which she began examining. Stitch grabbed the packet off of her lap and read the title: "Your guide to the ultimate vacation."

"You don't think it could be…" started Nani.

"No, no, it's probably just from some travel agency." blurted Lilo. A small slip of paper suddenly fell from the bundle she was holding. Lilo picked up the piece of paper; her eyes suddenly grew with disbelief. "Ok—this has got to—be a fake." stuttered Lilo.

"What is it?" asked Nani as she furrowed her brow and walked over to her sister. She sat down on the edge of the couch and leaned over next to her. Nani's eyes grew just as Lilo's had and her mouth dropped slightly. Stitch growled in frustration as he tried to see over the two sisters, he finally crawled up onto the back of the couch and got a clear view of the paper and just like the girls, his jaw dropped.

It was a small rectangular shaped piece of paper, outlined in a rose pattern of gold. The words "You are cordially invited to join us on this once in a life time journey aboard the magnificent World 1." Were written in an artistic fashion across the page in oily black ink. Every one almost instantly thought it to be a fake, but their doubts were questioned when a gold seal was seen stamped onto the bottom right hand corner of the page. And right next to the seal was the signature of Charles Vandercamp, flowing elegantly across the bottom of the paper. With just a glance one could tell it was the signature of a man who thought he was the worlds savior.

"This couldn't possibly be…" stuttered Lilo, her hand trembling slightly from the excitement welling up deep within her.

"But it is, Lilo! It's one of those free tickets! You get to go on that super ship thing!" Nani's grin was from ear to ear, it seemed that this ticket had pulled her out of her seemingly continuous funk.

A nervous look began to appear on Stitch's face as he saw Lilo smirking slightly. "But she's not going to go, right, Lilo?" blurted Stitch with an uneasy smile on his face. "Me and you are going to keep training, right? Lilo?"

The girl was silent, she seemed almost petrified, only her slowly broadening smirk animated her. Suddenly and from out of nowhere the young Hawaiian gave a girlish squeal that caused Stitch to nearly fall off the couch. "Training shmaning, Stitch, we get to go on a luxury liner!" grinned Lilo ecstatically as she looked at her friend.

"But just a moment ago you were saying what a joke that trip was?" Stitch said with a confused tone.

"But that was before I knew we were going to be on it!"

Nani took the paper from Lilo's hands and began examining it carefully. "But what about our training, you said we'd train every day?" continued Stitch.

"Stitch, we have been training everyday and you know what, I need a break, I need a vacation. I'm only human; I'm not an alien experiment. I need time to recharge. Besides, you could probably benefit from so relaxation time too."

"But—but…" started Stitch but he was suddenly cut off by Nani, who tapped her sisters shoulder frantically.

"But Lilo, look, it says you can bring only one guest."

Nani pointed the line out to her sister and like a knife cut the girls excitement down to nothing. The girl now took the paper in her hands and looked at it sadly. "Aww, man, this stinks." Lilo looked over at her sister and her furry blue friend. "I can't go if both of you can't come."

A moment of silence passed as the three of them looked around at one another. Finally Nani took the paper from her sister and looked at it one last time. "You and Stitch go, I'll stay here."

Both Lilo and Stitch looked at her with stunned expressions on their faces. "But Nani…" blurted Lilo.

"No but's young lady," replied Nani with a surprisingly motherly and forceful tone. " You and Stitch can go on the trip, I'll stay here. You two deserve it more then me. You and Stitch have been working your rear ends off lately, and while it may be for a cause that I think is ridiculous, you two still deserve a break."

Lilo was struggling to find something to say now. She couldn't understand her sisters behavior, Nani was the one always working hard to support their ohana, Lilo did nothing to help and as far as the training, her and Stitch didn't need to train as much as they do. Lilo was slowly shaking her head, hoping that the words would be shaken loose from her head. "But, Nani I…" blurted Lilo.

"I said no but's, Lilo. Besides, look at the date of the trip." Lilo looked down at the paper and quickly found the date, May 20th. "I couldn't go anyway, I'm leaving on a business trip with Mr. Jameson to Los Angeles to help him promote the hotel, remember?"

Lilo looked at her sister, still trying to comprehend her decision. "But, are you… are you sure?" asked Lilo in an almost timid voice.

Nani smiled and gave Lilo a brisk rub on the head. "I'm sure, you and Stitch just go ahead."

With that Nani turned around and walked out of the room and into the kitchen. Lilo stared at her sister as she left until she was out of sight; she then looked back down at the ticket. Meanwhile, Stitch was now standing on the cushion next to her, his arms folded over his chest and his foot tapping on the soft material.

"I can't believe you're actually going to break up our training regiment just for a little vacation." blurted Stitch angrily.

Lilo looked over at him with a glare. "Oh hush, just because we're going on a vacation doesn't mean we can't train. I'm sure they'll have gyms and running tracks on the ship. Lord knows it's big enough and besides, wealthy people are always concerned with their image."

"Well what about the fact that people look at me like your pet? Do you really think they'll let me on the ship?" said Stitch trying to deter his friend from her crazy vacation idea.

"Wealthy people and celebrities are always bringing their pets along with them. I'm sure we'll have no problems getting you on board. Besides," Lilo looked away and smiled a sly smile. "Even if they didn't let you on, I'd still be allowed to go."

Stitch's jaw dropped slightly as Lilo began to giggle childishly. The experiment just flopped down onto the cushion with a huff and a pout. The girl couldn't help herself as she leaned over and hugged her furry blue friend; he just looked so cute when he was upset. Just then the telephone sitting on the end table began to ring, Lilo let go of her friend and grabbed the phone off its cradle.

"Hello, Pelekai residence, Lilo speaking."

"Hey, Lilo!" greeted Victoria from the other end of the line.

"Oh hey, Victoria. What's up?"

"Oh nothing much, I just called to ask you if you saw the story on the news about that rich guy and his boat?"

Lilo smiled and gave a short laugh. "Yeah, I saw it, why?"

"Isn't that the stupidest thing you've ever seen? I've never heard of a guy flaunting his money so much."

"He does seem to be showing off." responded Lilo with another small laugh.

"And that whole, sending free tickets out to random people, what a joke. I feel sorry for anyone who gets one of those stupid tickets."

"Well then, bring on the sympathy." blurted Lilo as she looked at the ticket.

"What are you talking about, Lilo?"

"I uh… jut got one of those tickets in the mail a few minutes ago." The line fell silent for a moment. "Hello? Victoria?"

"You got one of those tickets?" yelled Victoria so loudly that Lilo had to hold the phone away from her ear for a moment.

The phone fell silent once more and Lilo returned it to her ear. "Yep, I did."

"Please tell me you're not actually going to go on the trip."

Lilo smiled nervously and rubbed the back of her head. "Well actually, me and Stitch are in need of some relaxation, some down time, so we are going."

"I can't believe that you'd give in to that guys heartless charity!"

"Hey, you can't tell me that if you got one of those tickets you wouldn't skip out on it. Victoria, you love being out on the ocean, and seeing the pacific in luxury like that, please."

"Are you kidding me, Lilo, if I got one of those tickets I'd tear it up!"

"Uh huh, sure you would. The ticket itself is probably worth a couple hundred bucks, I mean it's got gold trim and everything." said Lilo as she rubbed her finger over the gold border.

"That doesn't matter, I'd still tear it up!" there was a short pause. "Hold on my Mom wants me."

"Ok." responded Lilo casually.

"I always thought Victoria had some good common sense," mumbled Stitch, which just got Lilo to roll her eyes. "You could learn something from her."

Lilo suddenly heard some muffled noises from the other end of the line. A confused look appeared on Lilo's face as she was met with silence, at least for a moment. Finally the silence was broken by Victoria's now calm voice. "So… do you think we'll get rooms close to each other?"

Lilo raised an eyebrow. "What?"

The calm tone that had inhabited Victoria's tone disappeared just as quickly at it had appeared. "I just got a ticket too!" yelled Victoria excitedly.

Stitch gave a sigh as he hopped off the couch and walked out into the hallway, heading for his and Lilo's room. "So much for common sense."

Lilo just gave the experiment one last glare before returning her attention to her friend. " You got a ticket too, that's incredible! But, what happened to your whole 'tearing it up' bit?"

"Well I guess I'm not as strong willed as I thought."

"This is awesome nonetheless! But did you see that you could only bring one guest? What are you going to do about your family?"

"Oh don't worry about them, they wouldn't mind having the house quiet for a week or two."

"What about Snooty?" asked Lilo curiously.

"I'm taking him with me, duh. I'm looking at that booklet that came with the ticket right now and it says in the rules that pets are allowed, so… are you bringing Stitch?"

"Yep, even though he's not too thrilled about it." giggled Lilo.

"Cool, him and Snooty can hang out while we go poking around the expensive stores that are bound to be on this ship." A girlish squeal leaked out of the red head at the mere thought. "This will be so cool!"

Lilo gave a bit of a girlish squeal herself, though nowhere near as loud as Victoria. "You bet it will, nothing but fun in the sun on the high seas." smiled Lilo as she looked out the window toward the setting sun.

**Wow, long time no post. Well fear not, I am back with my latest story in the Tejina series. Sorry for the long long wait, I was preoccupied with a story on DeviantArt. Feels good to be back though. Now, I'll be updating as soon as possible and trust me it'll be a lot sooner then this chapter. Please review.**


	2. The Floating City

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 2: The Floating City

Time seemed to be stuck on fast-forward for Lilo and Stitch for the day of departure arrived before either of them realized it. Unfortunately for Lilo procrastination had gotten the best of her and she now found herself running around her room frantically packing anything she could think of to take. Stitch just sat on the bed next to her suitcase, a pout on his face and the spell book held tightly against his chest. He watched sullenly as Lilo tossed some socks into her bag along with a few unfolded shirts, he still wasn't looking forward to this trip, though it was no longer just because of the training but because he had realized that he was going to be surrounded by water. In an attempt to make the experiment feel secure Lilo had half jokingly packed some duck shaped water wings, which to no surprise Stitch found humiliating.

"Stitch hurry up and put your book in the suitcase, we don't have much time!" said Lilo as she packed the last few things.

"I don't wanna go, you can't make me." huffed Stitch as he turned his head.

Lilo stopped and glared at her friend, resting her hands on her hips. "Stitch, you're coming and that's final, don't make me pack you in the suitcase." Stitch just blew a raspberry at her. Lilo narrowed her eyes and in a flash grabbed the book, resulting in a tug of war between the two friends. "Give me the book, Stitch!"

"Never!" shouted Stitch as he was lifted into the air by Lilo, who dangled him from the book like a fish on a line.

"Stitch, let go! We have to get going!" hollered Lilo as she began shacking the experiment back and forth. The little blue guy only responded with a rebellious 'No'. "Stitch!"

After a few moments Lilo managed to wrench the book away from Stitch and packed it in with everything else. Lilo then hurried down stairs, carrying the suitcase under one arm and a frustrated Stitch under the other, meeting with an awaiting Nani. The older sister had a series of suitcases of her own sitting around her as she tapped her foot impatiently.

"Come on Lilo, we've still got to pick up Victoria!" said Nani as she opened the door and began picking up her luggage.

"We're coming, were coming." said Lilo as she met up with her sister and headed out the door.

The two made it sluggishly down the stairs, impeded by a struggling Stitch and Nani's clunky luggage. But finally they all made it into the green jeep in the driveway. After tossing the luggage in back and strapping Stitch firmly into the back seat they took off down the driveway.

"Ok now, are you prepared for this trip? You didn't forget anything did you?" asked Nani as they drove through the center of town, passing Kiki's ice cream parlor and a few other popular stores.

"We've got everything, don't worry, Nani." assured Lilo as she glanced back at the suitcases casually.

"You have my number just in case you need anything?"

"Nani, we'll be in the middle of the ocean, what could you do if we called?"

"Do you have it?" repeated Nani, with a more forceful tone.

Lilo gave a frustrated sigh while rolling her eyes. "Yes, we have the number."

"It's just a precaution in case you get into a bad storm or if you just wanna hear your loving sisters voice." said Nani turning her forceful tone into a joke.

Stitch just sat in the back, a pout on his face as he listened to the sisters shoot friendly insults back and forth the rest of the way. Finally the jeep pulled up in front of Victoria's house, where an anxious Victoria and Snooty sat waiting on the front steps. Lilo waved happily as her friend picked up a small duffle bag sitting near her feet and rushed over to the car.

"Is that your only piece of luggage, Victoria?" asked Lilo surprised.

"Yup, this is it." smiled Victoria as she tossed the bag in the back of the car.

"You do know you and Lilo will be gone for two weeks right?" asked Nani.

"Yeah, I know," answered Victoria as she crawled over the back door and sat down on the seat next to Stitch, who gave a polite smile. "I don't like packing a lot of things, traveling light is always better. Besides, my Mom gave me some money to spend just in case I need anything."

Lilo and Nani were left staring back at the red head for a minute with confused and dumbfounded expressions. Meanwhile Snooty landed on the headrest above Stitch and looked down with his own confused look at the once again pouting Stitch.

"What's wrong with you?" asked Snooty innocently.

"Nothings wrong with me," snapped Stitch.

"I think there is."

"No there isn't!" shouted Stitch, ending the conversation before it could really get anywhere.

Before long they were off once again, heading toward the local port that would get them to Oahu. It was actually a rather short drive and the group soon arrived. Lilo and Victoria grabbed their luggage out of the jeep and yet again Lilo had to carry a still upset Stitch. After a few last goodbyes Nani left for the airport, leaving the two girls and their experiment partners on their own. The port wasn't large; it mainly held small fishing boats, a few Jet Ski's and other recreational vehicles. After about half and hour they managed to hop aboard a ferry that had coincidentally just taken another group across to Oahu. It was a smooth ride across the miles of ocean that separated the two islands, but that didn't matter much to one member of the group. Stitch left his disapproval of the trip behind him for a short while as he held onto Lilo's leg for dear life.

It was another half hour before the small ship arrived at Oahu; the Captain of the ship was nice enough to take the two girls and their experiments straight to the port where their transport to the "World 1" was to leave from. The girls, after paying for their ride, unloaded and made their way to the check-in post. It was slow going for Lilo however; Stitch remained stuck to her leg even after leaving the ship. Upon arriving at the check in post, Lilo and Victoria presented the blonde headed woman working behind the counter, with their tickets. The woman repeatedly looked between the tickets and the two girls suspiciously, trying to determine if the two adolescents were trying to fake their way onto the ship or not. After a moment the woman decided the two looked legitimate and tore off one end of the ticket.

"The ship to take you to the 'World 1' will be returning shortly, you can just have a seat over there." The woman pointed behind her desk at a couple of benches sitting under a shady awning, where another couple was sitting patiently. "And keep those pets of yours close to you at all times."

Lilo and Victoria gave an understanding nod, took back their tickets and walked over to the closest bench, which just so happened to be across from the already waiting couple. As they took their seats Stitch finally decided that it was safe and released Lilo's leg from his grasp. Leaving that portion of her leg feeling sweaty and cool in the soft breeze. He crawled up onto the bench next to Lilo and returned back to his sulky appearance while at the same time Snooty landed gently on Victoria's shoulder. The couple sitting across from them, an older man with an almost artificial looking tan and a woman who looked like she was using every anti-aging product out there, looked at the two young girls and their odd companions with an almost concerned interest. The two seemed worried that the girls were in the wrong place.

Both the man and woman were dressed like they had a grand amount of money behind them, but at the same time they seemed out of place. Like they didn't know how to act, one would think that they were just trying to look like they had money, in order to fit in with the high society folk that would unquestionably populate the ship. Lilo and Victoria became aware of this fact almost immediately, but they both decided to let it go.

"Are you two young woman heading somewhere?" asked the woman politely in a little-old-lady voice.

"We sure are, a two week vacation on the high seas." smiled Victoria.

"You are aware that this is the waiting area for the 'World 1' aren't you?" asked the man as he raised a thick grey eyebrow.

Lilo smiled at the man after quickly rolling her eyes. "Yes sir, we are. You see me and my friend here happened to win two of the free tickets that have been circulating." Lilo held up her ticket and Victoria did that same.

"Oh, I see." The man shifted in his seat as if he were growing uncomfortable in his own skin. "Well me and my wife here are taking our second honeymoon."

"Well congratulations." blurted Victoria.

"Thank you," replied the woman. "We've spent so much on the tickets for this voyage we're hoping it'll be a nice trip."

"Yes, practically half my fortune was spent on this," the man huffed and folded his arms across his chest. "Vandercamp better have everything the way I ordered."

"Fortune? What exactly do you do, Sir?" asked Lilo with some degree of suspiciousness.

The man's calm exterior began to crumble at Lilo's question. He began to fumble over words as he tried to think of something. "I uh… own a series of… uh… Hotels, yes, hotels. I own Hotels all across the world: London, England; Milan, Italy; Paris, France. I own Hotels in all of those cities and more." An accomplished smile formed on the mans face as he felt satisfied with his answer.

Lilo and Victoria both raised their eyebrows questionably. "You don't say." blurted Lilo trying to sound interested. Suddenly she felt a tugging on her shirt, Lilo looked down to see Stitch looking up at her and pointing discreetly at the couple's bags.

Lilo casually glanced down at a tan leather bag sitting in between the man and woman and noticed something that made her smile. She gently bumped Victoria's arm with her elbow and once again casually pointed at the bag once she gained her friends attention. In a moment the two were smiling along with their experiments as they saw two golden edged tickets sticking out of a side pocket. Now they very well could have been purchased tickets, except for one tiny detail. The words "You're cordially invited…" were visible on the tickets, and those words wouldn't make sense on a purchased ticket.

The man and woman seemed to realize that their secret was out, because the man slid the bag underneath their seat and then looked away, pretending to be interested in a poster that sat on a nearby wall, the woman just looked out toward the ocean. The couple never said another word or even looked at the two young girls for the rest of the time that they waited, which made things rather quiet and slightly uncomfortable. Almost an hour passed and no one else joined in waiting for transport to the "World 1", one family stopped by for a moment but set off on a small fishing boat instead.

The lack of action took its toll on the two experiments, Snooty was napping quietly as he perched on Victoria's shoulder and Stitch was half asleep as he rested his head on Lilo's leg. The two girls, taking into consideration their partners, spoke quietly to one another, sharing funny stories and jokes to try and pass the time. But finally they were saved from the quiet boredom as the sound of a ship engine became audible. Everyone sitting there on the dock looked out toward the ocean as the noise grew louder and louder. It continued to grow louder for the next few moments until finally the ship came into view. It was a large catamaran that looked more like a space ship. Its hull was sparkling silver and its windows were tinted dark, it seemed less like a transport ship and more like a yacht. The ship slowly made its way into the bay and over toward the dock. Dock workers suddenly appeared from nowhere as they ran passed Lilo and them and over to the ship. The man grabbed large ropes from the dock and tossed them over to men onboard the ship, whom had also seemed to appear from out of the blue. The men tied the ropes around hooks on the ship and then proceeded to attach the gangway between the ship and the dock.

Every one got up from their seats and began gathering their things. The man and woman seemed to be in a rush as they gathered up their numerous bags and hurried down the dock toward the ship, possibly trying to run away from the awkwardness of just sitting there. Lilo and Victoria weren't in much of a rush and took their time getting down to the ship. Even before they were on the ship Stitch began walking unacceptably close to Lilo, ready to grab onto her leg in an instant, he nearly tripped her a few times. The girls were meet at the end of the gangway by a tall dark haired man, dressed in a well-pressed short-sleeved uniform. It was entirely white, decorated with a series of medals on the left side of his chest. A captain's hat sat atop his head, leaning a little to the right. The man couldn't have been any older then Nani.

"May I see your tickets please?" asked the man as he held his hand out.

"Oh sure, hold on." Lilo began digging into her backpack and soon produced her ticket, Victoria did the same and the two of them handed their tickets over.

Unlike the woman at the desk the man merely glanced at the tickets and handed them back. "Well congratulations to the both of you, and it is our hope that you and your… uh… pets there have a wonderful time aboard the 'World 1'. If you'll please proceed carefully onto the ship we'll be getting under way shortly." instructed the man as he stepped aside with a small bow.

The two girls just smiled, picked up their bags and began making their way onto the ship. "Um, excuse me," blurted Victoria as she stepped down onto the ship. "How long will it take us to get to the 'World 1'?"

The man looked at her with a smile. "It should only take about a half an hour. Due to the ships size it had to drop anchor quite a ways out."

"Oh, ok." acknowledged Victoria.

The two girls finally made it onto the ship; Stitch was now clinging to Lilo's leg as he looked fearfully down at the water. Lilo just rolled her eyes as she followed behind Victoria and Snooty, walking like her leg was made of wood from Stitch's extra weight. The girls and their experiments found a door near the rear of the ship with a sign hanging from it that read "Guest Lounge" and proceeded to go in. What they saw completely stunned them. The interior of the small ship was like nothing they had ever seen before; even Stitch released his grip at the sight. The whole room was filled with expensive looking furniture and décor. A white leather sofa stretched around the back of the room beneath a massive scenic window, a series of white leather chairs littered the room, a small bar sat at one corner with a bartender standing there cleaning a sparkling crystal wineglass. The walls were covered in a glossy wood paneling and pieces of magnificent art dotted them. And finally a dazzling chandelier hung from the center of the room, the light creating rainbows on the floor and walls from the crystals hanging around it.

The group slowly made their way into the room and over to the leather sofa at the end of the room. They all sat down, sinking into the soft sofa with pleasurable sighs.

"Even though this isn't the 'World 1' this is still amazing." smiled Victoria as she looked around the room.

"This room certainly is pretty isn't it, Victoria?" asked Snooty.

"It sure is."

"I couldn't imagine how much all of this must have cost." Lilo said as she stroked the white leather.

"It's way beyond anything we could afford, that's for sure." laughed Victoria.

The two girls just began to laugh as Stitch and Snooty looked at them funny. Before long the ship got under way and was speeding through the water toward the "world 1". The ship was moving at a fairly impressive speed and yet the ride was as smooth as silk. Victoria was standing over at the bar, even though she knew she wasn't old enough to drink, and was talking to the bartender who she thought was cute. Lilo was just wandering around the room, looking at all the art on the walls, leaving Stitch and Snooty sitting on the couch, well Snooty was perched on top of it. The bat like experiment just stared at Stitch who was sitting their completely silent and with a depressed look upon his face. He wanted to say something to his friend to try and find out why he was so upset, but he felt too nervous to ask.

Stitch gave a tired sigh and fell over; he was now laying down face up on the soft leather cushions. His eyes were closed tight and a frown of displeasure sat prominently on his face. He just laid there for a few minutes, peacefully and yet uneasy. He wiped his face with his paw and then opened his eyes, finding Snooty staring down at him.

"What?" asked Stitch sounding annoyed.

"Nothing," blurted Snooty as he turned his attention away from the blue experiment.

"Why were you staring at me?"

Snooty gave a sigh of his own and slowly looked back at his friend. "I'm trying to figure out why you look so bummed about this vacation."

"I didn't want to come, that's why." said Stitch quietly as he closed his eyes again.

"But why wouldn't you want to go on a vacation?"

"Just because!" snapped Stitch as he rolled over, facing the back of the couch.

He didn't know why but just then, Snooty felt almost obligated to learn why Stitch was being such a grump. The purple bat gave a huff and glared down at his friend. "Because why, Stitch? Because Why?" yelled Snooty finally. Luckily none else in the room looked over. "I want you to tell me why?"

Stitch clenched his teeth and growled while curling up into a ball. Snooty growled quietly himself and hopped down onto the couch cushion. The bat-like experiment waddled over the soft cushions to his friend, he raised one foot up and flexed his three toes, and three sharp black talons emerged from the tips. In one swift motion Snooty drove the three talons into Stitch's rear end. The blue experiment's eye's shot open with the pain and by reflex Stitch leg shot toward his surprise attacker while Stitch held in a howl. Stitch's leg nailed Snooty in the gut and knocked him across the couch, knocking him against the other arm of the couch.

No sooner had Stitch kicked Snooty than the now even more angry experiment sat up, leaning on his good butt cheek and glared down the length of the couch at Snooty, who was shaking his head. "What the heck was that for?" yelled Stitch, this time Lilo looked over at the two but thought nothing of it and went back to analyzing the painting on the wall.

"Tell me why you are so against this trip!" said Snooty returning to his determined look. "Don't make me skewer you again!"

Both the threat of another stabbing and the annoyance of being asked over and over again forced Stitch to stand up, wincing from the pain in his patookie and walk over to Snooty. "Fine, you really want to know why I didn't want to come," said Stitch as he sat down on his knees in front of his friend. Stitch looked over toward Lilo and Victoria to make sure they weren't within earshot and then looked back at Snooty. An almost solemn look replaced Stitch's angered expression on his face. "Lilo, said that she would train with me so I could get even stronger, she said that she wouldn't let anything get in the way of our training and now, she just suddenly turns around an goes on this vacation. We won't be training on the ship, I know she says we will but we won't. Her and Victoria will probably be spending their time shopping and doing whatever else human girls do. I feel betrayed to say the least."

Stitch sank back down into the couch, a look of sorrow plastered on his face. A sympathetic look crossed Snooty's face as he waddled over next to his friend. The bat-like experiment wrapped one wing over Stitch's shoulders comfortingly. Stitch felt uncomfortable about how close his friend got and leaned away slightly.

"It's only two weeks Stitch, it's not like she's never going to train with you again. And I don't think she was trying to betray you. Now I may not be one of the brightest of Jumba's creations, but I've come to understand that this tournament never means as much to our partners as it does to us. But it's not like they don't try, Victoria is always trying to cheer me up when I think I'll fail in this fight, she's changed her whole schedule at times to accommodate training."

Snooty's voice grew a little more cheerful at the thought, but it only made Stitch feel worse. "What's your point?" grumbled Stitch.

"My point is you can't expect our partners to be obsessed with the tournament. We've got to let them have some time to their selves; after all, we're the ones dragging them into this. It'd be selfish and cruel to expect them to devote their precious lives to our cause."

Stitch didn't want to believe it for some reason, but he knew his friend was right. It was never his intention to control Lilo's life, but looking back now he saw that he had been doing or trying to do just that. A whole different feeling now filled him, no longer did the trip itself worry him and no longer did he care about the training. He now only worried about, what Lilo really thought about him deep down inside.

"Attention all guests, the 'World 1' is now in view. We will be arriving shortly, if you would please gather your things and ready your tickets, it would be greatly appreciated." blurted the voice of the man who had been standing on the dock, suddenly coming from speakers in the ceiling.

Lilo and Victoria both ran back over to the couch and grabbed their bags. "Come on guys, let's go see this ship!" exclaimed Lilo and she tucked one bag under her arm.

"Yeah, let's see just how big this thing is." added Victoria.

The two experiments nodded, Snooty flapped up onto Victoria's shoulder as the girl headed for the door. Lilo was close behind the two, Stitch hesitated for a moment, looking at Lilo and thinking about what Snooty had said, but he quickly chased after them. The four of them made their way out to the front of the boat and gazed out across the water. Every jaw there dropped as the massive ship grew nearer and nearer. It was a catamaran design just like the ship they were on, it had one massive hull in the center with wings coming out from each side, connecting at the water with two smaller hulls, which looked like they could be cruise ships on their own. On top sat a circular platform with high walls around the outside that leaned inward, just beyond them tall buildings could be seen and one massive tower rose above it all, leaning backwards in a gradual incline.

Within the next few minutes more transport ships could be seen heading toward the "World 1". Finally, the shadow of the ship covered the small group of friends. Stitch and Snooty both cooed in amazement as the magnitude of the ship finally set in. All of them stared upward; the "World 1" towered over them like a floating mountain of metal. The tiny ships all made their way around to the front of the ship where two massive doors sat open like the gaping mouth of a beast. The ships lined up and proceeded into an enclosed cavernous marina. Everyone was out on the decks looking around in amazement.

Rows of docks ran along each side of the marina, leading to a platform where dozens of other guest stood in line. The wall behind the platform slanted upward toward the ceiling, three tracks ran upwards with the wall with glass elevators traversing them, disappearing into openings at the top. Lilo's and Victoria's ship settled into a dock on the left hand wall, crews appeared once again from nowhere, tossing ropes back and forth from ship to dock. The boarding ramp was attached once again to the side of the ship, everyone gathered their bags and made their way off the ship.

"Well we're finally here," blurted Lilo as the group made their way down the dock toward the platform where every one stood waiting. The couple that had managed to disappear on board the transport ship was walking hastily ahead of the four friends, acting like they were in a race of some kind. "Our vacation can finally begin."

"I can't wait to see what kind of fancy stuff they have in the shops up there." added Victoria as she watched an elevator disappear into the ceiling.

"Ooh yeah!" cooed Lilo with a big grin.

Stitch and Snooty both groaned and rolled their eyes. "Lilo, please don't tell me you're going to drag us along with you to go shopping." whined Stitch as he looked up at the girl.

Lilo laughed and glanced down at him. "Don't worry, Stitch. We won't drag you around… too much." Stitch gave another groan as he wiped his paw down his face. "Well come on, Stitch, who else is going to carry my bags?"

Lilo and Victoria both laughed. Finally the group reached the platform, men dressed in red bellhop style suits instantly greeted them. The men politely took their bags and carried them over to a roped in area where dozens of other bags sat. Both girls thought about the spell books inside their bags but agreed to themselves that they'd be fine. They were then escorted over to the centerline where white suited waiters offered them bottled champagne and light hors d'oeuvre's, such as crackers with steak pâté. Since they weren't old enough to drink and raw meat didn't interest them the girls turned down the offer, however Stitch and Snooty did both get a cracker. Snooty spat the pâté out but Stitch liked it.

As the minutes of waiting ticked by, Lilo took notice of the people around her. Everyone was dressed in fine clothing, some had glasses of champagne in their hands, and all were smiling and laughing haughtily. None of them were like the people they had meet back on the island; they all seemed to fit the stereotype perfectly. All of them looked comfortable in their surroundings, they all interacted with each other as if they were long lost brothers and sisters, though none of them probably cared at all about the person next to them. Out of curiosity Lilo looked around to see if she could find the couple. She found them in the next row over; the man was standing with his chin held high as he talked to another man in front of him. The woman was looking around nervously at the other woman, comparing herself to them. Both of them were sweating, trying with all their might to keep up the façade. Lilo just couldn't help but giggle, but she quickly stopped as she came to realize her own appearance. Her and Victoria were dressed in casual shorts and tank tops, a beach look, and she now found herself surrounded by designer suits and dresses.

Even the sweaty couple was dressed more appropriately. She felt her cheeks blush as she noticed two women dressed in silky dresses pointing at her and Victoria and whispering among themselves. She didn't bother to point it out to Victoria, who was stroking Snooty's chest as he sat on her shoulder. She suddenly felt a tug on her sandal strap and looked down to find Stitch looking up at her.

"How much longer do we have to stand here?" asked Stitch, trying not to sound whiny.

"Not much longer, just be patient." Lilo said calmly.

Another 15 minutes passed before Lilo and Victoria finally caught an elevator. The elevator was much larger then it looked from the outside. The walls were glass, tan carpet covered the floor and large flowerpots sat on either side. Lilo, Victoria, Snooty and Stitch made their way into the elevator along with what was left of their line. After a moment the clear sliding doors closed and the elevator made a smooth rise upwards. Victoria and Snooty gazed out the glass with wonder as the dock grew smaller and smaller beneath them. Lilo and Stitch though just stood there amongst the suave crowd.

"My, what a peculiar creature," blurted a rather large woman as she waddled over to Lilo and Stitch. She had a white fur scarf around her neck that she tossed over her shoulder as she bent down to get a closer look at Stitch. "What exactly is it, dog or some sort of bear?"

"Uh, he's uh… a uh… designer… Koala." stuttered Lilo as the woman examined Stitch up and down.

The woman finally looked up at Lilo with some doubt. "A designer Koala?"

"Yeah, the latest in genetics, their all the rage in Australia." smiled Lilo as she scratched the back of her head.

"They are huh? Perhaps I should look into getting one for myself? I love anything with fur," said the woman as she stroked her fur scarf, making Stitch gulp nervously. "How much did it cost you?"

Lilo gave a nervous laugh and pointed at herself. "You see how I'm dressed?"

The woman gave a deterred look as if Lilo was dressed in rags. "That much you say, my oh my."

The woman turned away and went off to talk with another man on the other side of the elevator. Lilo flexed her fingers angrily after the woman was no longer watching. She walked herself right into it, but she still felt insulted. But she knew things like that would happen with a group of stuck up people around. Just then, the elevator grew dark as it entered the opening in the ceiling. Lights flashed by, illuminating the elevator for a moment before disappearing once again. But within moments the light of the sun filled the elevator. The elevator slowly came to a stop and the doors on the other side opened up to the main deck of the ship. The group filed out of the elevator and proceeded toward one of three kiosks sitting a few feet away.

Lilo, Victoria and their partners were the last ones off. Their jaws all dropped once again as the ship extended before them. The ship was not so much a floating resort, but a floating city! Multistory buildings stood before them, small paved roadways ran between, wide pearly white sidewalks. Beyond the crowd of people they could see through to the center of it all, a round domed building with Greek style pillars around it stood before a towering structure that peaked with a pod shaped structure that they guessed was the bridge. High walls ran along the outside edge of the small city, stairs ran along it's inside leading to individual little viewing rooms that peered out over the expanse of ocean.

They were all so captivated by it that they didn't notice it was their turn. "Excuse me, you there, would you mind stepping forward please?" blurted a baldheaded man dressed in a butler's uniform.

"Oh sorry, we're coming!" shouted Lilo as her group snapped out of their trance. The group hurried over to the man who was standing behind a desk in front of a wall full of key cards in slots. "Sorry about that." smiled Lilo innocently. The man just gave an unimpressed sigh.

"Please present your tickets." blurted the man in a monotone voice.

The girls quickly dug their tickets out from their pockets, having removed them from their bags before they were taken. They handed the man their tickets and he proceeded to check over them. "Dang, they check tickets a lot, don't they?" whispered Victoria into Lilo's ear.

"Well with all these wealthy and famous people walking around, security is bound to be tight." replied Lilo before looking back at the man.

The man stamped the two tickets and handed the tickets back. "Are you two traveling as a group?" the man asked as the girls took their tickets.

The girls looked at each other for a moment. "Yeah." said both of them in unison.

"Very well," the man turned around and grabbed two card-key's from the same slot, turned to a nearby computer, typed something in and then swiped each card through a small device next to the computer. He turned to the girls and handed each of them a card. "Your room number is A125, you'll find directions to your room on the map in front of the main dining hall. When you arrive call guest services and they'll send up your luggage." The man then looked at Snooty who was sitting on Victoria's shoulder still and then at Stitch who was sitting obediently at Lilo's feet. He kneeled down behind the counter and brought up two red leashes. One had a harness at the end of it and the other a collar. "All pets must be on a leash at all times while on the main deck or anywhere that is not designated a leash free zone. Feel free to remove the collar when in your room."

The man handed the girls the leashes, the one with the harness to Victoria and the one with a collar to Lilo. Stitch and Snooty both groaned as they looked at the leashes. "Mr. Vandercamp is holding a opening dinner in the main dining hall, it is desired that it be your first priority." blurted the man.

"I'm guessing that big domed building is the main dining hall?" said Victoria as she strapped Snooty into his harness. The bat blew a raspberry in disgust.

"You are correct, madam."

"Ok, well thank you." smiled Victoria.

The man nodded and the four of them set off down the sidewalk toward the dining hall. They agreed they were more hungry then tired and would check into their room later after dinner. After a few moments the four of them walked through large glass doors, Stitch grumbling the whole way as his collar rubbed his neck uncomfortably. But his grumbling stopped as the group came upon the main dining floor of the building. Greek style columns stood along the antique red walls. Ceiling high windows sat on the opposite side of the room, shining sunlight in upon the hundreds of guests standing around a massive table that stretched from one end of the room to the other, a massive chandelier hung over head. The table was littered with delicacies from roasted pork, to turkeys bigger then Stitch and countless desserts and vegetable platters. All four mouths began to water as the smell of the wonderful food filled their nostrils.

Everyone took one long sniff and all sighed in pleasure. "Well what are we waiting for, let's eat!" shouted Lilo as she hurried down the set of stairs leading down to the floor.

Lilo and Stitch were at the bottom of the stairs before Victoria and Snooty could even blink. " Hey, wait for us, Lilo!" called Victoria as she ran after them.

The group got questionable looks from the other guests as they slid to a stop beside the table. "Oh what to eat, it all looks so good!" blurted Stitch as his tongue hung from the side of his mouth.

"Behave yourself now, Stitch. We don't want to make a mess." said Lilo as she rubbed her hands together anxiously.

"What are you going to try first, Victoria?" asked Snooty as he eyed up a cherry pie sitting just a foot away.

"I don't know, Snooty. I'm thinking a nice big turkey leg."

The four of them were so caught up in deciding what their first bite would be that they failed to notice two figures walking toward them. Their footsteps were too quiet to be heard of the low hum of the room, they stopped just a few feet behind the four friends and yet went unnoticed. The two figures stood there silently for a few moments before one of them spoke up.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't our old friends."

Lilo and Stitch's blood ran cold at the sound of the familiar voice. Victoria and Snooty were the first to turn around, unaware of exactly who stood before them. Lilo and Stitch both turned around slowly, finally coming face to face with the last people they expected to see. Standing there before them, was none other then Kioko and Angel. Kioko was dressed in a black long sleeved button down shirt; tan trousers and what appeared to be black dress shoes. Angel stood next to him; her arms folded over her chest and a red collar just like Stitch's around her neck. Kioko was holding her leash loosely in his hand, however Lilo tightened her grip on Stitch's. Both Kioko and Angel had smirks on their faces as Lilo and Stitch glared back at them.

"You, what are you doing here?" asked Lilo angrily. She wanted to grab the spell book but she soon remembered that it was in her suitcase.

"Vacation, just like you I assume." replied Kioko calmly.

Stitch was growling, as he remained focused on the pink experiment. "You have some nerve showing your face, you traitor, you backstabber!"

Angel closed her eyes and lowered her head with a sigh. "You're still upset I see,"

"And why wouldn't I be?" snapped Stitch as he stepped forward, tugging on his leash.

"Why won't you just let it go? You'll feel better if you do." said Angel as she looked up at him.

"How can I just let it go?" Stitch was now trying to hold in his anger, his teeth were clenched and so were his fists. "Some one I thought was a friend, an ally, just turns around and tries to destroy me!" Angel just turned her head casually, obviously not wanting to hear or pay any attention to the blue experiment. Just then a small smile crossed Stitch's face. "It does make me feel better however seeing you in one of these degrading leashes too. Ms. I'm-so-high-and-mighty."

The female experiment's calm appearance broke for a moment as she tensed up in annoyance. "Shut it, weakling." growled Angel trying to keep her cool.

"Are you two here to pick a fight or something?" asked Lilo.

"Are you kidding, a fight in this place? The two of us combined wouldn't be able to pay for the damages. Heck, I could barely afford this outfit." answered Kioko as he looked around.

"So then why are you here, if you don't want to fight why talk to us or even come near us?"

Serious expressions appeared on both Kioko's and Angel faces as they both looked at Lilo. "Despite what you may think of us, we like to play fair and we thought it'd only be fair for us to warn you."

For the first time Victoria chimes into the conversation, grabbing Angel and Kioko's attention. "Warn us about what?" asked the girl timidly.

"You mean none of you have noticed yet?" asked Angel.

"Noticed what?" asked Stitch.

"Look around this dining hall, and tell me what you see." ordered Kioko.

As ordered all four of them began looking around the massive room. At first nothing seemed to be wrong, waiters were serving drinks and people were talking and laughing, nothing out of the ordinary. But just as she was about to give up looking round, Lilo noticed one of the pets sitting beside one younger looking man on the other side of the room. Here eye's widened as the pet looked over at her with big black eyes. At first it was hard to tell because of it's natural brown fur color but as she looked at the creature she noticed it's rather bulbous nose and it's round speaker-like ears, it was an experiment. As if from nowhere she suddenly began to notice more experiments all around the room, standing with whom she assumed to be their spell book users. Victoria began to notice them all now too, her jaw dropped as she counted over 20 other experiments.

"You see them now, don't you?" asked Kioko, reading the expressions on their faces.

Lilo and Victoria as well as their experiments looked back at him with disbelief. "How… how are there so many experiments here?" asked Lilo.

"That's what we're asking ourselves," blurted Angel. "Almost every one it seems that received one of those free tickets has an experiment."

"And it's impossible for such a thing to be just chance." added Kioko.

"You don't think something could be going on, do you?" asked Victoria.

"We don't know at this point. All we know is…"

Just then a man dressed in a purple tux appeared at the other end of the room, standing atop a large set of stairs, large red curtains draped down behind him. "Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention please!" shouted the man. The room fell silent as every one looked over. "We hope your trip here was pleasant and we hope you are enjoying the food and drinks. But now I wish to introduce the man who made this possible, Mr.Vandercamp."

The man stepped aside with a bow; the large curtains split and out walked Mr.Vandercamp himself. He was dressed in the same grey suit he had been seen wearing on TV. He walked to the edge of the top step and stopped, gazing out over his guests with a pleased smile.

"Welcome all of you, welcome aboard the 'World 1'!" shouted the man as he spread his arms toward the crowd. The crowd replied with a small amount of polite clapping which died down quickly. "For years I've waited for this moment, and now that it is here, it has exceeded all my expectations. And just as well, I hope your stay here exceeds your expectations as well. Please take full advantage of all we have to offer, like our world-class spa, our many gourmet restaurants, dazzling theatre shows and of course the many famous stores and shops. Oh and did I mention, as the honorary first guests aboard this fine ship, you all receive 50 discounts on it all!" applauding once again filled the room as well as a few localized hollers. "Now, please continue with your meals and enjoy your stay aboard the 'World 1'!"

With that the man turned with a wave and walked back through the curtain, followed by a loud uproar of applause. But as he left Kioko and Angel returned their attention back to the group before them, a moment later they looked back at them.

"Just watch yourselves and keep an eye out for anything suspicious. Come, Angel." said Kioko as he turned and walked away.

Angel began to follow him but stopped and looked back at Stitch for a moment. "Don't get yourself eliminated, Stitch." Angel said with a serious look on her face before walking away.

Stitch gave a growl as he watched the two walk away, meanwhile Victoria looked over at Lilo who was also watching the two walk away. "Uh, Lilo?" Lilo looked over at her after getting one last glimpse. "Who were those two?"

"That's Kioko and Angel," started Lilo.

"They're the owners of the black book." finished Stitch with a sound of disgust in his voice.

Both Victoria and Snooty went wide-eyed. "They're the ones with the black book?" shouted Victoria sounding almost fearful.

"How can a pink female experiment be the black book user?" asked Snooty.

"Color and gender don't matter, Snooty. " blurted Stitch. "She's powerful, and she's the one I want to beat the most. That's all that matters."

**Well that's the end of the second chapter. Sorry for the length of both the chapter and wait. I should really stop trying to set deadlines for myself, I never stick to them. I promise the next chapter will be a bit more exciting. Please review.**


	3. The Calm Before the Storm

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 3: Calm before the storm

It had been a week since the "World 1" had gotten underway on its two-week voyage. Everything had been going smoothly for Lilo, Victoria and their companions. Every day had been filled with shopping; lounging and other fun activities while every night had been filled with fine food, music and theatrical shows. Lilo had even gotten chosen from the audience to be a part of one production as an extra. Unfortunately Stitch and Snooty were not there to see it live; pets were not allowed that night and so they had to watch a video of it. Both girls had taken time during the week to train with their partners, discreetly of course. This made Stitch happy but he still couldn't shake what Snooty had said back on the transport, did Lilo like him or was she just amusing him?

It only made him depressed to think about it, so he did all he could to try and get it from his mind.

He even went as far as chugging some gourmet ice cream and getting a tremendous brain freeze to try and avert is thoughts. But nothing worked, so finally he decided not to try and erase the thought permanently but deal with it day to day. For once it came a little easier though, on the day they were to spend just lounging by the pool. Lilo and the light purple bikini she was wearing mainly distracted him, he couldn't help but glance up at her occasionally as the four of them walked to the pool. Even Victoria was catching his eye from time to time, in her red bikini. He felt like slapping himself right there, the doubts about her liking him were being replaced by inappropriate thoughts, which were almost as bad.

They got about half way to the pool before Stitch started walking faster, getting ahead of the group, restricted only by the annoying leash around his neck. Without thinking Lilo yanked on Stitch's leash, jerking him backwards slightly and causing him to cough. Stitch said nothing though and neither did Lilo, she just kept talking to Victoria. Finally the group made it to the large, shell shaped pool, it's sparkling waters were a welcome sight for the girls, not so much for the experiments. They proceeded into the pool area, grabbing a couple light blue towels from the rack next to the entrance and then searching for a suitable spot. Umbrellas and lounge chairs sat all around the pool, a poolside bar sat at the base of the shell with tiny tables sitting around it.

The pool was unusually vacant, only a hand full of people were there, lounging around or swimming, leaving a multitude of chairs around to choose from. Lilo and Victoria unhooked Snooty and Stitch from their collars, after noticing a leash-free zone sign and headed off down one side of the pool. There were tons of places to sit but given the lack of people they could afford to be a bit picky. They made it to the top of the pool before finally finding a suitable spot.

"Ah, here we go. This spot will do fine." smiled Lilo as she laid her towel down on the chair. "What shall we do first Victoria, sunbathe or go for a…" Before she could finish the sentence Lilo heard a cheerful holler and a splash of water. She turned around to see Victoria coming up from under the water with a refreshed smile on her face. "Swim?" finished Lilo with a small laugh.

"I wish I could swim," sighed Snooty as he watched his partner enviously. "You think you can teach me how to swim, Stitch?" asked the bat as he looked over at Stitch who was just standing there.

Stitch looked at the bat like he was nuts. "Yeah, he could teach you how to sink like a rock." chimed Lilo with a smile as she began putting on her suntan lotion.

"Ha ha, very funny, Lilo." replied Stitch. Lilo just smiled and continued applying the lotion.

"Why? Can't you swim, Stitch?" asked Snooty curiously.

Stitch's ears dropped as he looked away nervously. "It's just that I… don't… it's that I can't, uh…" mumbled Stitch as he fiddled with his paws. Snooty just continued to look at his friend curiously which only continued to build the pressure up on Stitch until finally it broke free in a quick burst of frustration. "Fine, I'm afraid of the water! Ok, I'm afraid! I had a bad experience back at the lab." said Stitch sadly as he remembered falling asleep face down in a bowl of water.

"A bad experience? Poor baby." said another voice that caught the three friends attention. They all looked to their right to see Angel stretched out on a towel in the sun a few chairs down. She was looking over at the group with an amused smile. "And you'd think being on an island would have eliminated that fear."

In an instant the three friends were up in arms, Lilo was on her feet with Stitch standing ready at her side and Snooty now perched on her shoulder. But no sooner had they gotten up than another voice came from behind them. "My god Lilo just sit down and relax," Lilo turned around to see Kioko walking up to and past the three of them, stopping in front of Angel's chair. "We told you already, we're not here to fight, so just chill." Kioko revealed a pair of red sunglasses and tossed them to Angel, or more accurately, tossed them at her. The experiment didn't react in time and got hit on the belly buy the glasses.

Angel gave Kioko a dirty look as he sat down on the chair next to hers before putting on the glasses and looking back toward Lilo and them. "He's right, we're not here to fight."

"Well maybe we are!" snapped Stitch suddenly.

"Stitch!" scorned Lilo as she looked down at her friend surprised.

"No, Lilo! I'm sick of their smug attitude. Thinking they're the best… it'd be good to end this now." sneered Stitch as he glared at Angel.

The female experiment gave a sigh and lowered her shades, looking over the tops of them at Stitch. "Now you know our attitude isn't what gets your fur all up in a bunch. It's the fact that you think we betrayed you and your friendship or trust… what ever you want to call it."

Stitch growled deeper and kneeled down as if to pounce on her. "How dare you speak like that."

"You are such a fool, Stitch. We were together for only a few days, that's hardly enough time to call us friends. That's not even enough time to call us good acquaintances. So stop acting like we've known each other all our lives." said Angel casually but with a serious tone.

Stitch opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by Lilo. "She has a point, Stitch. She wasn't with us long enough for us to call her a friend. Though she was friendlier before she attacked us." Now Lilo glared over at Angel, who just rolled her eyes and looked back up toward the sky.

"You weren't together long enough to call her friend and so you haven't been around us enough to understand why we do the things we do," chimed Kioko. "We have our own goals to accomplish and I'm sure you two do too. And you can't hold us accountable for trying to complete those goals, we don't hold you accountable after all."

"We could have been allies you know," blurted Lilo scoldingly. "Like us and Victoria, we are allies in this fight. We don't need to fight against one another."

"There can be no allies in this tournament, Lilo." said Kioko as he sat up and looked over at her. "You call you and the red head allies, there can only be one winner, Lilo. Even if your little group makes it through to the end and you two are the only partnerships left, you'll have no choice but to fight one another. So why bother forming friendships with people you'll eventually have to defeat?"

Lilo was struck speechless as she searched for a way around the obvious truth that Kioko had laid before her. But Stitch was still growling deeply, the two users of the black spell book were making him angrier than he'd ever been before. "You two are just asking for a beating aren't you?" threatened Stitch as he clenched his fists.

Angel just laughed and looked over at him. "I would gladly fight you, Stitch. I could use the exercise."

A smirk crossed Stitch's face as he walked around to the end of the chair and faced Angel. "Then what's stopping you?"

Angel placed her paw on her belly and rubbed it a few times gently. "My hungry belly that's what," said Angel with a playful pout. "Can you go get me an ice cream, Kioko?" asked Angel as she looked at her partner.

A dumbfounded look now sat on Stitch's face as Kioko looked at his partner. "I got you those sunglasses, you go get your own ice cream." said Kioko as he tossed her some money.

"I'm not allowed to leave this area without a leash and some one holding it remember?" replied Angel as she tossed the money back.

"So, just go," he tossed the money back to her. "No one is enforcing that, besides I think you could get away from anyone who tried to catch you. So if you want the ice cream, go get it yourself."

All was silent for a moment as Angel shot her partner a dirty look before getting up off the chair and walking toward the exit. Stitch sneered as she walked past him, clenching his fist tight and doing all he could to keep himself from lashing out at her. Even after she was well past him and close to the exit he was still straining. Lilo and Snooty didn't seem to notice this but Kioko did as he looked at the experiment with a small smile.

Stitch was torn in two completely different directions. Part of him wanted to remain cool and calm and not let Angel bother him, but the other part wanted to take action. He couldn't stand her in the least, she manipulated him and Lilo, defeated them so easily it was almost a disgrace, and to top it all off she doesn't even have the guts to say "sorry", instead she acts all high and mighty as if none of it mattered. The more he thought about it, the more it felt as though he would literally blow his top. If it were a cartoon, steam would be spurting out his ears right about now. Never had any experiment or anyone made him so frustrated and angry, it was hard for him to believe.

Finally it all broke loose, Stitch could no longer restrain himself and in an explosion of pent up anger screamed her name, turned and in a flash darted toward the exit and out of sight. Lilo panicked, partially caught off guard and honestly a little frightened, she had never seen her friend so furious. She looked toward Snooty and ordered him to go after Stitch.

"Right, Lilo!" shouted Snooty as he quickly took to the air.

Lilo watched nervously as Snooty flew over the exit and down the street. She turned to find Kioko still lounging in his chair, a book now open in his hands. "How can you just sit there?" exclaimed Lilo. "How can you just sit there and let Stitch go after Angel like that? Who knows what he might do to her."

"Lilo," replied Kioko as he continued reading casually. "Don't worry about it, Angel's a tough girl she can handle herself."

"Handel herself? Kioko, Stitch isn't going after her to chew her out, he sounded like he wants to chew her up."

This time Kioko gave a small laugh and put the book down for a moment. "Lilo, I hate to break it to ya, but Stitch isn't nearly strong enough yet to pose a serious threat to her. Even without her spell book she's more then powerful enough to take him on. Besides, I've taught her a few things you won't find in any spell book." finished Kioko with a smile.

Just then, about a block down the road, Stitch lined up for an attack as he spotted Angel walking peacefully ahead of him. He grew closer and closer, running on all fours now, when he leapt toward her. He raised a fist and then threw an animalistic punch toward the back of her head. It all happened in slow motion to him, but just as he was about to connect Angel cocked her head to one side and his fist sailed right past her, as did he. He flipped over in the air and landed on all fours a few feet in front of her, skidding to a stop and glaring at her with teeth bared. But she looked as though she had heard him coming a mile away, her expression calm and unsurprised. She stopped where she was and looked at her attacker with little more then pity.

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" asked Angel abruptly as Stitch snarled ahead of her.

"It doesn't feel good to have some one attack you out of the blue does it?" growled Stitch angrily. "Now you know how we felt!"

With that Stitch charged Angel once again, throwing another punch straight at her. But once again, she merely sidestepped the attack. "Are you crazy?" shouted Angel.

Stitch didn't answer, he just charged her again and just the same she sidestepped his attack, leaving him skidding across the cement. He continued with the same attack for minutes, constantly getting the same results, which just fed his frustrations. Snooty now landed on the ledge of a building just above the two experiments. He didn't know what to do, he couldn't get between them; he didn't have the body for hand-to-hand combat. Even then he knew he was the weakest of the three of them. He groaned uneasily as he watched Stitch repeatedly attack, but he was thankful to see that Angel wasn't fighting back, if she was as powerful as they all said then her fighting back would just make it a bigger problem.

Stitch was now beginning to tire, none of his attacks had connected and he was using up a lot of energy. He growled seeing that Angel had barely moved from her spot and that she wasn't even trying to fight back.

"What's a matter with you, why aren't you fighting?" snapped Stitch as he tried to catch his breath.

"I'm not going to waste my time and energy fighting you, Stitch," replied Angel harshly. "Besides, if I fought back you'd only lose like last time."

The pink female instantly regretted saying that; she knew exactly why he was fighting her and saying that only instigated him. 'Me and my big mouth,' thought Angel as Stitch's anger once again burst out. He charged at her, yelling at the top of his lungs, his eyes glazed over with rage. 'I really got to learn to keep quiet at times like this.'

Stitch was rapidly approaching her, his fist cocked and ready. "Fight me!" screamed Stitch with all his might.

To her disappointment Angel saw no other way out, she had to make him stop. "Fine, if you wanna fight, you've got one!" yelled Angel as she narrowed her eyes and lowered herself into a defensive pose.

Snooty cringed. 'Oh no, this isn't going to be good.'

Stitch was now within striking distance, he threw his fist as hard as he could with a raging yell. He watched as Angel raised one paw up in front of his fist and the next thing he knew, he saw nothing but clear blue sky. Then buildings and then ground, lots of ground. He landed face first in the middle of the street with a thud. He quickly pushed himself up onto his knees, a dazed and confused look on his face as he tried to figure out what had just happened. But in a moment he quickly remembered what he was doing there, he wiped around and faced Angel again.

"You can't beat me, Stitch." blurted Angel confidently.

"Oh yeah, well we'll see about that." snapped Stitch as he got to his feet and charged her just as he had done so many times before.

Once he was close enough Stitch threw another punch, Angel caught it just like last time, however this time she pulled him toward her, went low and drove her elbow into his gut. The impact made Stitch wince, cough and gasp for breath, but Angel wasn't done. "Your attacks are all alike, Stitch. You're too angular, too predictable, you need variety." The pink experiment grabbed onto Stitch's arm, lifted him into the air and flipped him. He landed on his feet in front of her with his arm twisted painfully behind his back. "You rely too heavily on that basic fighting program that Jumba gave us. You need to adapt yourself and grow," Angel released her grip and drove her foot in between Stitch's shoulder blades sending the experiment skidding across the pavement on his face. "If you don't… you'll never win."

'Whoa, she's scary.' thought Snooty as he continued to watch.

Stitch groaned painfully as he pushed himself up, a small trickle of blood was running down from his nose to his mouth. He wiped the salty liquid away from his mouth as he rolled over and faced his opponent. "And where exactly did you learn to fight like that?" asked Stitch curious but still baring his teeth angrily.

"That little move I learned from Kioko. I watched him use it on a guy who tried to rob Luki's ice cream shop. He's an excellent hand-to-hand fighter and he's been teaching me. It's a type of earth fighting called Martial Arts, it's a much more accurate and powerful way of fighting as opposed to how we experiments learned to fight."

"Martial arts, huh?" asked Stitch as he forced himself to his feet. "What a load… I don't know about you, but I don't need any fancy moves to beat my opponent, let me show you what I mean!"

It was like he had ignored everything she had said because Stitch charged right at her again, exactly how he had done it before. He raised his fist and threw it at her; Angel was now growing very tired of all of this. She could understand him being mad, but he was taking over board and his determination to not listen to her and act stubborn was like a thorn in her side. Stitch threw his punch but it was no good. Angel smacked his fist away like it was nothing and drove her foot into his gut, knocking him back to almost the same spot he had been before.

"You're acting like a real jerk, Stitch, a stubborn, stupid jerk." yelled Angel irately.

"Me a jerk," laughed Stitch between coughing and gasping for breath. "How about you? Ever since you stabbed us in the back you've been rubbing your 'superior power and skill' in our faces!" Angel's ears dropped with shame, as she knew he was right about that; there was no acceptable reason for her acting that way. "Well no more, you're never going to rub that power in our faces again, I'll make sure of it. And I'll make sure you pay for betraying me and Lilo!"

Stitch got to his feet and blasted toward Angel, who still had her ears and head hung low. But something was different this time, Stitch didn't come straight in, his path zigzagged toward her. Angel didn't see this however; she was staring down at the ground in front of her feet. Her eyes narrowed sadly as she realized the only way that would make Stitch stop, and it might as well have been her worst nightmare. She had to let him know the real reasons behind what she had done to him and Lilo, the real reason why she acted the way she did. If there was one thing she hated most it was telling people what she really felt, the tense and nervous feeling of not knowing how the other person would react was something she dreaded. But it had to be done; otherwise Stitch would just keep attacking her until he collapsed from exhaustion.

Stitch was now just a few feet from her, his fist cocked and ready. Angel slowly looked up toward him, a determined glare in her eyes. Stitch was now in striking distance, he wasted no time in throwing his punch, but yet again Angel was too quick. She grabbed his fist, wrenched his arm around behind his back and threw her arm around his neck. Stitch yelped in pain as she nearly dislocated his shoulder.

"You want to know why I've done what I've done and why I have acted this way?" said Angel almost in a whisper as she brought her mouth close to his ear. "It's because I'm intimidated by you, Stitch," Stitch's eye widened with shock and confusion, his anger suddenly gone. "When you fought Twister back in that field, you showed tremendous power, power that I had never seen from a freshly made experiment. And it scared me, you see I've been in this tournament four times in the past and each time I was always one of the first to be defeated and not only that my partners always abused me and treated me like dirt. Well not this time, I've actually made it well into this fight and have a partner that actually cares about me, I love it. But when I saw that power of yours I became frightened, I knew that I might have to fight you one day and that I may very well lose. And I didn't want to lose, I like it too much here to let myself be defeated."

Stitch was dumbstruck by this, he couldn't believe it. Snooty couldn't believe it neither his jaw was practically at his feet. "So you see, Stitch, I didn't attack you and Lilo because I wanted to betray you, I did it because I was afraid, afraid that you would become stronger then me and would beat me."

"Then… why… didn't you burn our book?" asked Stitch.

"You can give credit to Kioko for that. He told me that if we spared you, we would have a strong rival in which to measure our own power. If you grew stronger, then we would have to get stronger too, and because we get stronger then you're forced to get stronger too, and that cycle would continue till the end. Both of our teams would benefit from it and when the end of the tournament finally came and our teams were the only ones left… we'd be equally matched. The fight would come down to pure skill, and power would no longer matter. It would be a fair fight. That's why we haven't tried to fight you while we've been here. I don't want to fight you until I absolutely have too."

Angel dropped her head once again and released Stitch. He took a few steps and turned around, rubbing his sore shoulder and looking at her with an almost empathetic look. "That doesn't' explain why you've been acting so high and mighty." said Stitch calmly.

"Words can only bring so much comfort. I trust Kioko's judgment on a lot of things but his words didn't assure me fully. I still have my doubts about beating you, that's why I act the way I do. Boasting to try and diminish your will to grow stronger is all it amounts too."

"You were just trying to discourage us." Angel nodded. A sympathetic look washed over Stitch's face as he took a few steps closer to her, extending his arms out her. "Angel I…"

"But understand this, Stitch," snapped Angel with a sudden outburst of resolve. "It doesn't matter if you grow stronger or not, I will beat you." Stitch was taken back once again as Angel glared at him. "I will be the winner of this tournament no matter what."

With that Angel turned and continued down the street, leaving Stitch staring in confusion at her, but a slow smile crept across his face. Snooty then flew down from his perch and landed on the ground next to Stitch and joined him in watching Angel walk down the street. "So what just happened here, I'm lost." asked Snooty as he looked at Stitch.

"What do you mean?" asked stitch as he looked down at his friend.

"Well are you two friends now or what?"

Stitch was silent for a moment as he looked back toward Angel once again. "I wouldn't say we're friends, no."

"Then what happened?"

"Let's just say we came to an understanding." said Stitch as he looked back at Snooty. "Come on, let's get back to the pool. Lilo's probably worried."

"I know she was when she sent me after you."

Stitch smiled and turned down the street back toward the pool. "Well we better hurry then."

"Right!" exclaimed Snooty happily.

With that, Stitch and Snooty started back toward the pool. But meanwhile, up in a dark secluded room in the bridge, two shadowy figures, one of a man sitting in a large chair and the other of a small creature standing next to the chair, loomed over a wall of glowing monitors. Their gazes were focused on two screens at the bottom. The first screen showed Angel walking up toward the ice cream store and the other showed Stitch and Snooty walking down the street.

"The time grows near," blurted the man in the chair as he fiddled with the large rings on his hands. "We will soon have enough recruits to begin with our plan."

"Excellent," replied the small creature, it's voice rough and low. "Once we have gathered the final members begin with the next phase immediately, eliminate all those who are unnecessary. But make sure not to draw any attention to the operation, avoid any full fledged battles."

"As you wish. But what should do about them?" asked the man as he pointed to the Stitch and Angel.

"We shall deal with them in good time."

"And that Bat and his partner? Their close friends with 6-2-6, if we eliminate them it may make 6-2-6 and his partner suspicious."

"The bat is no threat to us, for the sake of the plan, leave him and his partner be for now."

The man nods obediently. "I understand."

**Well that's the end of this chapter. Again, I apologize for the long wait. I know I said it'd be a fast update but procrastination, a two-week vacation and lack of ideas got the best of me. So to keep this from happening, I'll say that the next chapter will be up as soon as possible. Again, sorry for the long wait. And thank you to all who put up with my long update times.**


	4. The First Move

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate 

Chapter 4: The First Move

If anyone thought that the "World 1" was impressive in the day, they had yet to see it at night. The massive ship was like a floating beacon on the dark, black ocean. The lights from its towering structures, streets, over-looks and superstructure illuminated the still ocean waters for miles, making it truly resemble a floating city. However, despite all of the lighting very few people roamed the streets and walkways of the ship. All were either in their rooms, at dinner or attending one the ships shows. Others though enjoyed the quiet that night brought and found it a very pleasant time to roam around.

One man took full advantage of this when ever possible. He was a younger gentleman, his hair was well groomed by the stylists onboard. He was dressed in a simple golf shirt, brown trousers and some classic dress shoes. He had a smile on his face as he walked down one of the more out of the way streets, along the outer wall of the ship. Beside him strolled a small, orange furred creature, with beady black eyes, a large red nose, sagging ears and what appeared to be a large eye on its forehead.

Both were enjoying the silence as they strolled along the ship. They had been walking for a while and silently decided to head back to their room. However they also decided to take the long way there. They began walking through the darkest area of the ship, close to the base of the superstructure. They turned a corner and passed by a series of dark alleyways. Suddenly, as they passed the third alley, a series of cold metal chains shot out of the darkness and ensnared the two of them, pulling them into the dark alley. The creature was nearly completely wrapped in chains while only the man's arms and legs were trapped.

The man gave out a frightened scream as he saw three men appear from the shadows. Two of them ran over and grabbed the man's arms as if the chains, which seemed to come nowhere, weren't enough.

"Oh god, please take my money, whatever you want, just don't hurt me!" screamed the man as the third figure slowly walked up to him.

"We're not here for your money," blurted the man in a deep, powerful voice. He reached forward into the man's golf shirt and then pulled out a deep orange book. "We're after something far more valuable."

The mans eyes widened as the dark figure tossed the book to the ground a few feet away and then began digging in his pockets, soon pulling out a small book of matches. "No, please, not the book, please not the book!" yelled the man as a match was lit and tossed upon the book.

The chains holding the small creature suddenly released as the orange book burst into flames. The creature gave a terrified scream, rushed over to the book and began to frantically pat the book down trying to put out the flames. The man looked on tearfully as the book and his partner disappeared, leaving nothing but a book shaped scorch mark on the ground. "Well that's one order of business done. Now to deal with the second." said the dark man as he looked back toward the man.

A panicked look swept over the mans face as the large man once again walked closer to him, digging once more in his pockets. A moment later the man revealed a long syringe filled with an odd glowing orange liquid. "No, please don't! Get away from me, get away!" yelled the man as the syringe was brought closer to him.

"I'm sorry, sir, but we can't have anyone blabbing about this now can we?" blurted the man as he brought the needle closer.

"No, no, noooo!"

The next morning came just as all the others had before it. The warm sunlight poured in through the sliding glass door at one end of Lilo and Victoria's room. The room itself was no surprise to them, it was nothing more then a spruced up hotel room, maybe a little bigger. Coming in from the front door there was a tiny closet with a washer and dryer behind it, just beyond the closet and to the left was a small kitchen complete with a small stove, microwave, fridge and of course all the other wares required in a kitchen. In the middle of the room were two descent-sized beds with a large flat screen TV hung on the wall at the foot of the beds. There was another closet over near the kitchen along with a bathroom, of course. The room was decorated in a tropical motif with bright colored walls, flower borders along the ceiling and a breezy-blue carpet.

Stitch gave a tired groan as Lilo rolled over and shook him gently. Stitch was out from under the covers and was curled up against the pillow. He curled up tighter as Lilo continued to gently rock him. "Come on sleepy, it's time to get up."

"I don't wanna, just five more minutes." mumbled Stitch.

After a moment Lilo got a wicked little smile on her face. Victoria, who was sitting up in her bed, also got a wicked little smile on her face and nodded in encouragement. Lilo grinned and looked back to Stitch. "Nope, time to get up, sleepy boy!" blurted Lilo as she suddenly shoved Stitch off the bed.

Stitch gave a small yell as he crashed to the floor. "What was that!" shouted Stitch as he stood up and glared at Lilo.

"You wouldn't get up." smiled Lilo as she turned and got up out of bed.

"So what's the agenda for today," asked Victoria as she stretched and got up as well.

"I don't know I don't have anything in particular in mind." said Lilo as she opened the small fridge and pulled out a bottle of orange juice. "I might go to the gym."

Victoria nodded and pulled some clothes out of her duffel bag. "Well, I'm going to get dressed and go for my morning jog… at 12:30." said Victoria as she looked at the clock on the nightstand between the two beds. "Can you wake Snooty up for me, Lilo?" she asked as she walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.  
"Sure!" shouted Lilo as she walked over to the closet and opened the door. Snooty was hanging from the coat rack upside down, breathing lightly and with a small snore. Lilo gently stroked the bat's head as she spoke softly to wake him up. After a moment the experiment slowly opened his eyes and gave a big yawn.

"Oh sure, you wake your friends partner softly but you shove your own partner out of bed. I see how it is." whined Stitch as he sat on the end of the bed.

"Good morning, Lilo." smiled Snooty as he stretched his wings out.

"Good morning, Snooty."

Just then Victoria came out of the bathroom dressed in a purple running outfit that showed off her midriff. She had her hair in a ponytail revealing every freckle on her face. "Well, I'll be back in a little bit," she said as she walked toward the door. "I'll see you later, Snooty, you be good now."

"I will, Victoria." He smiled as she scratched his head gently.

"See you all later!" shouted Victoria as she headed out the door.

"Bye!" replied everyone in unison.

In the past week Victoria had developed a running course for herself that took her around half of the ship. She'd wave to the crew as they brought up supplies for breakfast and the days activities. But since she got such a late start she didn't run into any of the morning crew, just a few passengers that had gotten up early. Everything was routine, it was the same run as always except for the hot noon sun making it a bit tougher. But as she rounded the last leg of the run, making her way past the base of the superstructure, something in the alley way caught her eye. She slowed to a stop, huffing and puffing she walked back to the alley and made her way down its length. A confused and interested look came over her face as she found a rectangle shaped burn mark on the ground. She didn't realize it right away but she soon recognized the burn mark as a spell book.

She looked around carefully, searching for any sign of a fight but she saw nothing. The alley was too thin for a spell to be used and not cause some damage to the walls. She scratched her head in confusion as she looked back down at the scorch mark. Suddenly something else caught her eye, she bent down and picked something up from the center of the scorch mark. It was a used matchstick! Victoria suddenly felt even more confused and at the same time felt a burst of urgency. She didn't know why but she felt she needed to tell Lilo and the others about her little discovery. So she quickly turned and ran off toward the room, unaware of the multiple cameras that followed her every move.

She arrived back at the room in just a few minutes, pounding on the door like her life depended on it. Lilo opened the door and was almost tackled by her red headed friend as she rushed into the room. Stitch and Snooty both perked their ears up and looked toward the girl as she paused in the tiny kitchen, trying to catch her breath.

"Victoria, what's wrong?" asked Lilo in an alarmed tone, shutting the front door behind her.

"You… you'll never… never guess what I…" stuttered Victoria through exhausted gasps.

"Geez, Victoria calm down." blurted Stitch rudely. Which got a quick glare from Lilo.

She was silent for a few moments as she caught her breath, wiping the sweat from her brow with a cloth that was hanging from the oven door. "I found this in an… alleyway just down the street." said Victoria as she held up the burnt match.

Needless to say everyone was rather disappointed by the girls announcement. Their flat stares told her everything and made her look around uncomfortably, realizing just what a fool she made her self appear to be. Lilo scratched her head as she raised an eyebrow and walked over to her friend. "Victoria, I think the heat has gotten to you." said Lilo in a gentle tone.

The girl just shook her head and looked at her friend. "No, you don't understand. I found it inside a scorch mark on the ground,"

"The story keeps getting better." said Stitch as he sat crossed legged on the bed, his elbow on his knee and his head resting on his paw in a bored posture.

Victoria didn't even acknowledge the blue experiments comment's she was too focused on what she was saying. "The scorch mark resembled a spell book, Lilo!"

Lilo raised her head in sudden curiosity but she still didn't find it all that exciting. With all the experiments that were on the ship she couldn't see the find as being unexpected. "Well, maybe there was a fight last night?" said Lilo, forgetting about the match.

"That's what I thought at first," exclaimed Victoria as she walked by Lilo and into the living room area. "But then I found the match… and, and then there's the fact that there was no damage to be seen! How can there be a fight and no damage to the environment?"

Lilo rubbed her head again trying to find some rational explanation to give to her friend. "Well, maybe some one wasn't getting along with their experiment and burned their own book. That would explain the match you found."

Victoria lowered her head and gave a deep sigh. She looked at the match that was still in her hand and then tossed it onto the counter. "I guess that's what might have happened. But it still strikes me as odd."

"I'm sure it's nothing, Victoria," said Lilo as she continued to try and settle her friend's thoughts. "Now, what say you go change and we'll all head out for… lunch?"

"Ooh yeah! I'm starving!" cheered Stitch happily as she bounced up to his feet.

"I could go for something to eat too." added Snooty, who was sitting perched atop the headboard.

Victoria nodded in agreement and started off toward the bathroom once more, walking and holding her head as if she were in a daze. She then stopped in the doorway of the bathroom and looked back toward her friends. "I wanna show you guys that burn mark too on our way out."

Victoria turned and went into the bathroom, leaving the three friends looking around at each other, silently pleading with one another to find a way to get Victoria to stop. A little while later every one was out of the room and despite their saying that nothing was wrong, followed Victoria to the alley were she had found the burn mark.

"I'm telling you guys, there's something fishy about all of this. I just can't put my finger on what it is." said Victoria as she looked back at her friends.

"I'm sure you're just reading too much into this, Victoria," said Lilo in a concerned tone. "I mean me and Stitch have found tons of scorch marks back on Kauai."

"Yeah but have you ever found them in out of the way places like alleys and with no sign of a fight?" Victoria's pace quickened as she saw the alley just up ahead.

"Well… no but…" said Lilo as she looked down at Stitch hoping to find an answer. But Stitch just looked back up at her with an "I-got-nothin'" look on his face.

"This is it guys!" shouted Victoria as she bolted ahead, stopping in front of the alley and motioning for the three to hurry up. Lilo and Stitch jogged down to their friend while Snooty landed on top of the building.

"Ok, so where is this mysterious mark?" asked Stitch sarcastically.

"It's right down…" Victoria turned and eagerly pointed toward the spot where she saw the scorch mark. But to her utter shock and confusion… it wasn't there. She suddenly began frantically looking around making sure it was the correct alley. But everything seemed to be where it was when she was there last.

"Uh, Victoria, I don't see anything." said Lilo as she walked up next to her friend. Victoria furrowed her eyebrows and stared at the spot where the scorch mark had been. There was no sign of it; it was as though it had just vanished.

"Wha… I swear it was right here! Where did it go?" shouted Victoria hysterically as she moved a few trashcans around, searching for any sign of the mark.

Lilo let out a sympathetic sigh, seeing her friend like this was not something she liked; it scared her a little bit. But deep down she knew that she couldn't let it off as nothing. Her friend just might have found something; there was no knowing for sure. But for now she had to try and get her friends mind somewhere else. "Victoria, it was hot, you were exhausted… maybe you saw something that wasn't really there?"

"Then how do you explain the match?" asked Victoria as she shook her finger in the air.

"You see how many of these rich people smoke, it's possible it's just from some one lighting a cigarette or something." said Lilo with a shrug.

Victoria gave a heavy sigh, placed her hand against the alley wall and leaned against it. She closed her eyes and held the bridge of her nose with her other hand. The girl was silent for a few moments as she gently rubbed her nose; she seemed to be struggling to put the whole situation in a comprehensible order. Victoria turned back toward her friends and walked out of the alleyway. "I guess you're right…" she looked back at the spot for just a moment but then looked back at Lilo. "Well, let's go… you're all hungry and my paranoia is slowing us down." said Victoria in a quiet and defeated voice.

Victoria began walking down the street, leaving Lilo and Stitch standing silently behind. The two of them looked at each other and then back at Victoria, who was walking with her shoulders drooping and her head hung low. "I'm starting to worry about her, Stitch." said Lilo somberly.

"Yeah." agreed Stitch.

A while later Victoria found herself wandering around the stores and restaurants of the ship. They had stopped and gotten something to eat and then discussed what they wanted to do. Lilo, Stitch and even Snooty felt like going back to the pool; Victoria did not. So while Lilo and the experiments went back tot he room to get ready she headed off on her own. She was coming up upon a stretch of road that held mostly bars and clubs. People were standing around with glasses in their hands talking and smiling. She felt their gazes follow her momentarily as she walked past, sending a slight chill up her spine. She hated having people look at her, but she understood why they were looking; she was underage and walking around a bunch of bars.

She was about half way down the street when suddenly a man stumbled out of the doorway of a bar and collided with her. She gave a small yip as the man grabbed her shoulders to stabilize himself. She cringed as the man looked up at her with a stupefied look on his face. She held her breath as the man breathed straight in her face; the smell of booze practically smacked her in the face. It was obvious he had been in there a long time, his hair was greasy and scruffy, his face was drenched in sweat and his dress shirt hung out from behind his belt.

The man continued to stare at her as if he was studying every inch of her face. She kept her head turned as she looked at the repulsive man from the corner of her eye. At this point she was wondering why no one was trying to help her. The two stared at one another for a few moments, just as she was about to call out for help the man shouted at her as if she were on the other side of the street.

"Hey, hey you! Thanks you so much… fer… fer catchin' me right there." The man looked back at the doorway and waved his finger at it. He then looked back at Victoria with wide eyes, a look of amazement on his face. "That… that's one hell of a doozy step there."

"I… bet it is." said Victoria after nearly gagging from the mans rancid breathe.

"Hey, hey, hey, hey… you know… you look just like my ex-wife… except for your hairs." said the man as he waved his finger in her face. "But hey, hey… between you and me… because we're friends you know… I think she was a man."

Victoria cringed harder she felt as though she may loose her lunch right there, his smell was horrendous. But her salvation soon came; a couple of guys came out of the bar laughing hysterically. They walked over and pulled the man away. "We're sorry about that, our friend her has had a few too many drinks." said one of the guys with an amused smile.

"He smells like it alright," replied Victoria as she waved the lingering smell away from her face. "Why didn't you guys get him sooner?"

"To be honest we didn't notice that he left, or tried to I should say." said another one of the guys. "Again we're sorry about that."

"Fish," shouted the drunken man as he sagged in the arms of the third man. "I smell fish! You guys smell the fishies? They smell like… like my ex-wife… did I ever tell you 'bout her?"

With one last apologetic smile from the guys the drunken man was dragged back into the bar, leaving Victoria with a disgusted look on her face. She could have sworn she was feeling lightheaded just from the mans breathe, so she shook her head slightly to clear up her head and then continued down the road. She soon reached the end of the road, stopping in front of a small modest bar that had a sign above the door that read simply "Charlie's". She stood there for a few seconds before walking inside the small bar. She ignored the disapproving looks she got as she walked over to the bar and took a seat on one of the high stools; it felt good to be off her feet. Behind the bar stood a wrinkled old man dressed in a casual dress t-shirt and pants who soon walked over to her.

"You're not getting any liquor here, young lady." blurted the man as he leaned forward on the counter. For some reason a small smile crept across Victoria's face, the man's voice reminded her so much of her grandfather, the voice of a mellowed heart.

"Don't worry, sir… I just came in to get off my feet." Victoria smiled at the man who after a moment of giving her a questioning look smiled back and then returned to his work. Victoria continued to smile as she looked around the small establishment. It was covered ceiling to floor in dark wood paneling, with pictures of old time bar scenes hanging on the walls. The bar was the same wood that paneled the room; a cushioned pad ran along the edge of the counter. Behind the bar sat a wall of shelves filled with different bottles of liquor with a large mirror situated in the center. Victoria gave one last sigh as she placed her elbow on the counter and rested her head against it.

"Well look who it is, Lilo's red headed friend." blurted a familiar voice from the other end of the bar.

Victoria snapped too and looked in the direction of the voice, she found Kioko looking at her from over the top of a newspaper. "What are you doing here?" asked Victoria a little startled by this sudden encounter.

Kioko placed the paper down on the bar and picked up a small glass filled with a golden brown liquid. He took a small sip of it before setting it back down and looking back at the girl. "I just stopped by for a drink what else."

"Where's Angel?" asked Victoria as she looked around the bar.

"She's back at our room watching her favorite show, 'Iron Chef America,'" said Kioko with a shrug. "Don't ask me why she likes that show because I have no clue." Victoria nodded and looked away for a moment. All her thoughts about the mysterious disappearing scorch mark came back to her. Lilo and the rest had been skeptical but, Kioko seemed more observant, plus he was the one who told them to keep an eye out for odd happenings and this scorch mark certainly was odd. "So, what brings you out here…" said Kioko as he waved his hand toward her, instructing her to finish the sentence.

"Uh, Victoria."

"Right well what brings you here, Victoria? After all this isn't the place for the under aged." said Kioko as he seemingly teased the girl by taking another sip of his drink.

"I just went for a walk and ended up down here. I also ended up getting fallen all over by a drunk guy." The girl cringed at the thought of the man again.

"Sounds like a interesting walk." commented Kioko with a small smile. "But my question is why are you walking alone? Since you've been here I've hardly ever seen you and Lilo apart. Did something happen?" Kioko sounded almost genuinely concerned but the small smirk that sat on his face ruined the façade.

Victoria crossed her arms on the counter and dropped her head. The feelings of uncertainty came rushing back to her and suddenly she felt worried about what Kioko might think about her little observation. After all maybe she was just over reacting to nothing. She was beginning to feel trapped by this paranoia of hers; and she was really wishing she were old enough to drink.

"Well?" blurted Kioko, interrupting Victoria's unpleasant thoughts.

Victoria raised her head a little but kept staring down into her lap. "Something kinda happened…" Victoria paused a moment, hesitant to continue, but she finally got up the nerve to continue. "We're having a bit of a disagreement right now. You see I was out running this morning and I found a scorch mark on the ground. Well the scorch mark was shaped like a spell book; at first I thought some one had just gotten into a fight but then I found a used match. So now I'm thinking that something else happened, but I don't know what."

Victoria suddenly sprung to life as she quickly sat up and faced Kioko; her face was filled with certain sense of urgency. "I mean there was no damage so something else must have happened! But when I told Lilo about this, she doubted it and now she probably thinks I'm crazy. But I know that something happened, I just know it!"

Victoria slammed a fist down onto the bar, which she left there for a moment before casually pulling it back and rubbing her now sore hand. Kioko just raised an eyebrow, sighed, got up and walked over next to the girl. The boy sat on the stool next to her and leaned against the bar. "You're not crazy, Victoria. We've noticed things like that as well, at least since a few days ago. Scorch marks on the ground without a trace of battle, those same scorch marks disappearing…"

"I noticed that too!" exclaimed Victoria caching Kioko a little off guard.

"Well… we've also noticed that it's not just the experiments that are disappearing, it's their human partners as well." said Kioko with a deathly serious tone.

Victoria's eye widened with surprise at this new information. Her jaw moved to speak but no words came out at first. Finally she managed to say "Really?"

Kioko gave a silent nod at first before explaining. " Yes, you see there was a guy in the room above us that had an experiment and neither of them have returned to their room in two days. So something is most definitely going on, but we don't know exactly what as of yet."

Victoria stared off into space, flabbergasted by the whole situation. After a moment she went to speak but found herself speechless. It was another few moments before she could finally speak. "So, I was right. Something is going on." Said Victoria, still staring into space with her eyes wide.

"Yes, but now you have to be extra careful. Who ever or what ever is doing this seems to be targeting people who are alone and strength doesn't seem to be an issue. So be careful when you are out at night. Got it?" explained Kioko before getting up and standing next to the girl.

"Yeah… yeah I got it." said Victoria as she finally looked up at the boy. "I gotta go tell Lilo about this!" exclaimed the girl as she got up and ran for the door. She stopped at the doorway and looked back at Kioko, who was now back at his stool and sipping his drink. "Thanks a lot!" shouted Victoria with a cheerful wave.

Kioko just looked at her like she was nuts and then turned his attention back to his newspaper. Without another word Victoria bolted out the door and down the street. She caught up with Lilo and the gang at the pool, but because of the fact that Lilo was spending a lot of time in the pool Victoria didn't get a good chance to explain the situation to her. It wasn't until the end of the day that she got a good long chance to tell Lilo about what Kioko had said. She was relieved that Lilo was starting to look at the situation as serious.

The group was now approaching their room; ready to call it quits for the night. Victoria was walking next to Lilo, discussing the matter further while Stitch and Snooty followed a few feet behind. "I'm sorry I doubted you like that, Victoria," apologized Lilo as she looked at her friend. "I should have known better."

Victoria just rolled her eyes and smiled at the girl. "Would you quite apologizing, I don't blame you for thinking I was going nuts. I felt the same way, believe me. The important thing to do now is to try and figure out what is going on."

"Do you think maybe its anther one of the guests that's going around doing this?" asked Stitch.

Victoria glanced over her shoulder at the experiment for a moment before shaking her head. "No, I don't think it is. It's too complicated for one person or pair to do. I mean the burning I can see, but removing the scorch mark and making the partner of the experiment disappear without a trace… it's too much." explained Victoria as she held her chin between her fingers.

"Maybe it's not just one pair, maybe there is another group of allies out there that's doing all this?" theorized Lilo as the group stopped in front of their door. But something suddenly catches her eye; a white envelope sat lodged between the door and frame. Victoria and Lilo looked at one another before Lilo reached forward and grabbed the envelope.

"What is it?" asked Victoria as she looked over Lilo's shoulder.

"I don't know," said Lilo before flipping the envelope over and examining the front. On the front of the otherwise bland envelope was a message, emblazoned in gold lettering.

It read: "To the recipients of this note, you are of a special group to be invited to Mr. Vandercamps special honors ball. To be held in the main hall tomorrow night. Formal attire is mandatory; optionally pets may be brought along as long as they remain on leashes. Tickets are enclosed along with menu, program and other information. We hope to see you there."

Victoria and Lilo once again looked at each other, unsure of what to say or of what to think about the note.

**Well, that's the end of this chapter. Sorry again for the wait. And I promise, just one more chapter before the action really heats up. Please review.**


	5. Companions

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 5: Companions

Lilo and Victoria's room was hectic the night of the ball, both of them were rushing about the small room trying to get ready, dodging into the bathroom when ever they could. Their experiment partners, however, had it easy other than trying not to be trampled by the scurrying girls. Stitch was sitting quietly on his and Lilo's bed, resting against the pillow at the top of the bed. Snooty was perched atop the headboard of Victoria's bed. The two just watched as the girls practically fell over one another trying to get ready. There was no specific time that guests needed to arrive so the girl's frantic behavior was rather amusing.

But Stitch wasn't chuckling like Snooty was as he watched Victoria try and do all of her makeup at once, using the shiny side of the toaster as a mirror. Once again the bat's words had grabbed hold of his mind and weren't letting go. Stitch gave a heavy sigh as he slumped into the pillow; Lilo seemed more excited about this ball then anything thus far. When they went out training she never seemed that excited, but then even he knew that they thought differently. He had been created to fight and it was something that was greatly enjoyable to him, to him the feeling of battle was the ultimate thrill. But Lilo wasn't programmed like that; she wasn't made to fight. If anything it seemed like she didn't like fighting at all, but that again was no surprise to him, she was female after all.

But did she see training and fighting with him as a chore or as a drain on her own life? That was the question that burned into him and he couldn't find an answer on his own. Winning the tournament was his dream, but he had no idea what her dreams were before he came into her life. He was pretty sure winning an alien tournament wasn't it though. He suddenly felt something he never had before, a desire to leave. He suddenly felt like picking up his book and leaving, disappearing out of her life for good. If she did see this tournament as a chore then she'd be relieved to have him gone. Then she could pursue the dreams she had before he stole them away from her.

The blue experiment rolled onto his side, facing the kitchen he could feel his eyes welling up with tears. He wanted to win this battle so badly but at the same time he didn't want to be a burden, the whole thing seemed to be tearing him down the middle. He rubbed his eyes gently, trying to rid them of his tears. He was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't see Lilo come out of the bathroom. She was dressed in a powder blue, sleeveless, ankle length, silk dress with white high heels. She came out ready to ask Stitch how she looked but the small smile that was on her face disappeared as she saw her friend curled up on the bed, a depressed look on his face. Lilo made her way over to the bed as Victoria rushed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind her, making Lilo cringe for a moment.

"Hey, what's wrong Stitch?" asked Lilo as she sat down softly next to him. The experiment didn't even look at her. "Come on, speak to me, what's wrong?" She reached over and began stroking the side of his chest. Stitch turned his head and looked up at her, his eyes glazed over with sadness. Lilo spots the tiny glistening beads in his eyes and makes a move to wipe them away. "Are you crying?" said Lilo as she moved her hand closer to his face, but at the last moment he looked away.

Lilo pulled her hand back and gave her friend a stern scowl. "You know I don't like it when you act like this, Stitch. Now please talk to me," said Lilo, her expression lightened into a concerned frown.

Stitch was silent for a moment as he wiped his eyes and cleared his nose with a short sniffle. "I'm sorry," said Stitch in a hushed tone. Lilo could hardly hear him, so she leaned over him and moved closer. "I'm sorry I've been such a burden."

Lilo's eyes pulsed with surprise as she sat back up a little. "What do you mean?"

Stitch did the same, scooting up onto the pillow, yet he didn't look at her. "I've been dragging you around all this time, only caring about what I want to achieve. I never took your dreams into consideration."

"What are you getting at, Stitch?" said Lilo.

" I must thank you for at least trying to amuse me," continued Stitch as if he hadn't heard Lilo.

"Stitch, what are you talking about?"

"I'll leave if you want, then you'll be able to do what you want. You won't have to worry about me,"

He was beginning to scare her; she didn't know what was going on with him. But she wanted answers so out of the blue she reached forward, grabbed her friend by his shoulders and turned him toward her. Stitch gave a small yelp from the surprise but quickly returned to his solemn demeanor, his head sinking between his shoulders. Lilo seemed desperate to get something out of her friend as she placed her hand under his chin and lifted his head up. She put them face-to-face, but even with his pitch black eyes she could tell he wasn't looking at her.

"Please, Stitch, please tell me what's wrong," said Lilo in a pleading tone, holding onto her friend tightly. But before Stitch could even get a chance to speak Victoria burst out of the bathroom, dressed in a peach colored dress nearly the same as the one Lilo was wearing. The only big difference was her dress was sequined, giving it a glittery look under the lights of the room. She was wearing the same white high heels as her friend though. Her mood was totally the opposite of the one that hung over Lilo and Stitch at the moment, she was practically singing.

"Hey, Lilo you ready to get going?" asked Victoria enthusiastically, not noticing the girl's low expression.

Lilo turned her head toward her friend with a small, strained smile. At the same time Stitch pulled his head away from Lilo's hand and looked back toward the ground. "We'll be out in a minute."

Victoria was still oblivious to the situation as she gave an excited "Ok" and headed for the door, grabbing the large purse she had bought a few days before and Snooty's harness off the closet doorknob. "Come on Snooty!" shouted Victoria as she opened the front door. The bat, who had his eyes on Lilo and Stitch, nodded and flew over to his partner. He landed on her shoulder and the two of them walked out of the room, leaving Lilo and stitch to themselves.

As soon as the two of them were out of the room Lilo turned back to Stitch, her concerned and confused expression still on her face. "Now, please Stitch… tell me what's wrong. I want to help if I can."

Stitch was completely silent for a few moments before timidly looking up at his friend. He cleared his nose one last time with a soft little sniffle, which in the back of Lilo's mind she found rather cute, before speaking. "Will you be completely honest with me?" asked Stitch, his voice quiet and faint-hearted.

"Of course, Stitch." Lilo replied with a small burst of enthusiasm.

Stitch looked away from her and rubbed his paws together gingerly. "Are you in this tournament with me just because I asked you? Are you just trying to amuse me?"

Lilo was taken aback by his question. She could barely get any words to even come to her mind let alone her mouth. The silence made Stitch look up at his friend, his ears hung low at his shoulders in despair. After a moment Lilo had still not said anything and it only made Stitch feel like his assumptions were true, she did only see it as a chore. His head fell once more, but just as he did Lilo shattered her silence.

"How could you even begin to think that?" shouted Lilo sounding almost a little angry. The outburst startled the small experiment and caused him to look back toward her with a look of shock. "Stitch, why would you think that? What have I done that could make you feel like this?" Lilo's tone fell down to a quieter volume.

This time Stitch turned his head away, looking towards the kitchen. "You… haven't done anything really. It's just that… it makes sense. We're both in this fight but I'm the only one of us who was made to fight… and it's my dream to fight and win, but that's not your dream," Stitch looked back up at Lilo, his ears still hung low and the tears welling up in his eyes again. "Your dream certainly isn't to win some fight so why would you have any real desire to fight, if you had a choice you wouldn't fight at all."

Tears were beginning to well up in Lilo's eyes now as well as she stared into his big black eyes. She slowly began to shake her head side to side, a tear running out of the corner of her right eye. "How could you forget?" asked Lilo as tears were choking her up.

"What? Forget what?" said Stitch as he cocked his head slightly to the side.

Lilo just continued to shake her head. "Stitch, I did have a choice, remember? When you asked me… I could have said no… but I didn't. I chose to join you in this fight and yes, this isn't what I saw as my future and I may not be made to fight like you are, but that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you." Tears were now flowing steadily down both of their faces; Stitch's lower lip was even quivering a little. "Now… in the first few days I might have felt that way, but me and you are friends… no… we're ohana… and there isn't anything I wouldn't do for my ohana."

It seemed as a miracle to him, all of his doubts about him and Lilo's partnership seemed to be shrinking by the second. The tears running from his eyes were now uncontrollable as they ran down his cheeks, staining his fur a darker blue. His heart felt so light yet it was beating a mile a minute. He was speechless but it was mainly because of how chocked up he was. In the back of his mind he felt so pathetic, crying like a baby, but he was also enjoying it and it only got better. A big smile crossed Lilo's face before she leaned forward and wrapped her arms him in a tight hug. Her tears were now dripping off of her chin onto his shoulder.

"You never need to feel like I don't care, Stitch. Because I will always care… always." said Lilo tenderly, as she gently rubbed her cheek against his shoulder.

Stitch had to close his eyes and clench his teeth as sobs began to leak out from him, but he quickly surrendered, wrapping his arms around her just as tightly. "I will always care too… forever." said Stitch softly.

Meanwhile, just outside the front door, Victoria and Snooty sat patiently in a hallway. Victoria was leaning forward on the banister while Snooty sat quietly next to her. Both of them had smiles on their faces, obviously excited about the ball, though Victoria was definitely more enthusiastic. But at the moment she found herself calmed by the gently ocean breeze that was drifting by.

"It's a beautiful night out isn't it?" asked Victoria as she gazed up at the shimmering stars above.

"Oh yeah, it'd be a good night to go flying." said Snooty as he looked up as well.

"I really wish this trip wasn't going to end soon, I like it here." said Victoria with a small sigh.

Snooty just giggled. "Well it's a vacation after all. You don't have work or chores, you just have time to relax."

"That's exactly it," exclaimed Victoria as she turned and pointed her finger at the bat. "It's freedom, Snooty, freedom. No nagging Mom, no yelling Dad, just me and you."

Snooty just smiled in agreement and looked back toward the sky, but Victoria continued to look at him. All of their adventures began playing through her mind like a slide show. Their battles, their training sessions, and their plain old lazy days; it was all so wonderful; she could hardly believe that it had all happened. Her whole life had been changed from the moment they met, and though their friendship hadn't existed nearly as long as her and Lilo's, it still seemed a life time.

"Snooty, have I ever told you just how much I appreciate being with you?" asked Victoria quietly.

Snooty just looked at her with a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"Have I ever told you how glad I am to be your partner?"

Snooty blushed slightly and looked away bashfully. "Oh, Victoria." blurted Snooty in a friendly scolding manner.

"Not only did you save me and my family, but you've shown me so much. On those nights were I couldn't sleep and my mind was restless… you were there to help calm my nerves. We just talked but you opened my eyes to so many things. I've learned a lot. No ones ever been there for me like you have, Snooty." said Victoria as she reached up to him and gave the experiment a gentle scratching behind his large ears.

"No ones ever been as nice to me as you have either, Victoria. I've never had such a close friend. Back at Jumba's lab I was always picked on because of my lack of fighting skills and my… child-like voice. None of the other experiments wanted to be my friend and I began thinking I'd never have one. But then, I was sent to this planet and I found you and even though when I first found you I was just trying to do what I thought we experiments were supposed to do in this fight, I soon found the one thing I never thought I could have…a friend."

The two fell into a complete silence as they stared at each other, broad smiles on their faces. There they remained for what seemed to them as an eternity. But their eternity was shattered when Victoria burst into uncontrollable giggles, Snooty followed soon after. It was a completely opposite mood from what Lilo and Stitch were feeling on the other side of the door. Snooty had thought deeper about what he had said, asking himself the same question Stitch did. Was his partner just amusing him? But unlike his blue friend, there wasn't a doubt in his mind that Victoria was truly behind him a hundred percent.

Victoria began to slip out of her giggling fit and back into a more under control posture. "I don't know what brought on that little emotion fest," laughed Victoria as she looked back at her friend. "There must be something in the air."

"It's probably this ocean air. Early onset of sea craziness or something." said Snooty with a joyful smile.

"Yeah probably," said Victoria as she looked down at the tips of her shoes and rubbed her arm. "I am glad to have you in my life though, Snooty." She said softly.

"I'm glad to have you too, Victoria." He said as he waddled cross the railing to his partner.

The two just smiled again and fell into their equivalent of an embrace. Victoria wrapped her arm around the bat's shoulders while he rested his head against her neck, purring in content. There must have been something in the air, because the spilling of emotions wasn't just limited to the two allied pairs. All the away on the other side of the ship, at the top of one of the buildings sat Angel. She was standing on the edge of a planter, and leaning forward against the metal railing of the balcony that stuck out form the back of her and Kioko's room. They were high enough that they could see over the outer wall of the ship and overlook the glistening black ocean.

A gentle breeze blew her long antenna in the wind like ribbons on a kite. She was practically entranced by the bright, white moon that hung over the dark abyss of the ocean. It's light shined off of her dark eyes, making them seem to glow. That same pale moonlight gave her pink fur a soft, warm color and just made her seem so serene. She was so peaceful that she didn't even budge when Kioko slid the sliding door open and stepped out on to the balcony, his shadow cast by the lights of the room, falling over her. He didn't say anything at first, as he walked over to the railing next to her while adjusting the tie around his neck.

"Well, what do you think," asked Kioko as he spread his arms in display. " Look fancy enough?"

Angel slowly let her gaze fall away from the moon and over toward him. Kioko was dressed in an entirely black tuxedo: Black coat, black tie, black undershirt, black pants, shoes, all of it was black. Angel just smiled and gave a small, critical laugh.

"Are you going to a ball or a funeral?" smiled Angel.

"Come on, seriously, how do I look?" said Kioko as he turned around slowly.

Angel just gave a sigh. " You look great, I mean at least your fully dressed now," Kioko just chuckled as he wiped his cuff links with his thumbs, acting like he didn't hear. " I mean you know better then to walk out of the shower and drop your towel in front of a lady."

"It was an accident, besides, that little rule only applies to human woman." said Kioko in a sly, playful manner.

"Excuse me but that applies to all woman! Human or not I'm still a female and we… we don't need to be seeing… that." stammered Angel as she looked away quickly; feeling her face growing warm.

"You're blushing." Kioko whispered into her ear as he came up behind her.

"I am not!" snapped Angel as she put her paws on her cheeks.

Kioko laughed and backed up, turning toward the ocean and leaning on the rail. "You're always messing with me like that." blurted Angel as she lowered her paws.

"Of course" replied Kioko with a smile.

"But why is my question?" said Angel as she went back to looking back toward the moon.

"Well, it's just so fun. I don't know why but, it's so entertaining to get you to blush. Which you seem to do a lot when I'm around." said Kioko as he looked at her out of the corner of his eye.

There was silence as Angel smiled and closed her eyes. Kioko smiled himself and then looked back toward the ocean. His smile slowly faded away, leaving a solemnly straight face. Both of them were completely silent as another breeze swept over their balcony, whispering into their ears quietly. While Angel didn't hear anything in that breeze, a voice seemed to cry out to Kioko and he did exactly as it said.

"You wanted to know why I fight so hard for you, right?" uttered Kioko as he kept his eyes fixed on the churning waters beyond the wall.

Angel's ears perked up a little as she looked over at him; certain sadness seemed to be hanging over him like a dark cloud. But it seemed to lighten just slightly as he turned his head toward her and a small smile formed on his lips. " It's because you're precious to me," Angel once again felt her face go flush. Her ears fell backwards and a tiny bit of fear began to well up in her throat. She had no idea what to say or think at that moment. Luckily for her Kioko wasn't quite done yet. "You're my second chance, Angel. Probably my only second chance."

Kioko's expression was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Loving, concerned and at the same time remorseful, yet his smirk never left his lips. She was more then sure that smirking was his only way of staying in control of himself. He always smirked when in a fight or in their little arguments. She could only wonder why did he need to control himself. The words left her easier now; her thoughts freeing them form their shocked prison.

"What do you mean by 'second chance'?" asked Angel softly.

Kioko turned and looked back out over the ocean, a small sigh flexing his chest and escaping through his nose. "I don't think I've ever told you about… her, but I know you've seen her picture." The image instantly flashed into Angel's mind. A tattered old picture, at least it looked old, that she had found shoved into the back of his nightstand's drawer. She had come across it one day while he was out and she felt like being a little snoopy. It was a picture of Kioko, a few years younger, with a big, bright smile on his face and his arm wrapped around a beautiful young woman. Her hair was a heavy brown, hanging down to just below her smooth shoulders. A few strands fell over her nearly flawless face, accentuating her golden brown eyes that seemed filled to the brim with vitality. She had thin, majestic lips that were barely parted as if she were about to whisper a secret.

The two of them appeared to be sitting at a candlelit table with a moon glittered ocean view behind them. It was a beautiful picture in her opinion, but why it was shoved into the back of a drawer was something she couldn't figure out. And she hadn't thought to ask either; she had shoved the picture back in when she heard Kioko coming through the front door.

"How'd you know I saw it?" asked Angel guiltily.

"I found some pink hairs in the drawer along with the picture." said Kioko as if it had been an obvious answer.

"Oh," responded Angel, shifting away from him, trying to hide her guilt. "So… who was she?"

A smile crossed his face, a smile that comes from the appearance of a happy moment in ones mind. "She was one of those people who come along once in a life time and change everything for the better. The sort of person that makes you feel so grateful to be alive. She was my life, I loved her more then I thought I could ever love anyone."

"So what was her name?" asked Angel, finding the dreamy expression on Kioko's face amusing.

"Her name was Michelle… Michelle Thompson."

"And she was your… girlfriend?"

Kioko laughed in a way that made her feel like it had been a stupid question. "We were almost more then that… we almost got married."

Angel's jaw dropped almost onto the railing that she was leaning against. The thought of her partner being a husband was not something she had ever even began to imagine. "You… were almost married!" shouted Angel with a slight squeak in her voice.

Kioko began to laugh again. Angel didn't know if it was because of her little squeak or his memories. But it really didn't matter; she was more interested in hearing what Kioko had to say. "Yup, we were almost married. And that was really the only happy thing going on in my life at the time. You see the house you and me stay in was my family's house when they lived on Kauai. It's been in the family for a few generations actually. Anyway, it was a nice place to live until I got to be a certain age. I still don't know why exactly but my Dad and me started arguing all the time. Over the stupidest stuff too and it got to the point where we actually exchanged punches a few times." Kioko began to rub his forehead, just talking about those fights made him feel stressed.

"My Mom was too frightened to say anything about the arguments and my little sister who as only about five at the time obviously didn't know what to think. Of course neither did I. But then one day my Dad got a call from the mainland saying they had a job opening for him at some programming company. My Dad knew he would take it before he even hung up the phone. He managed to talk my Mom into moving away from our family home but I refused to leave. We got into another argument, my Dad saying that I had to come and that I wouldn't be able to survive on my own and me pointing out that I was nineteen and was old enough. That same argument lasted two whole days… but in the end they ended up leaving me behind. My Dad was positive that I'd come crawling back, proving he was right," A toothy grin suddenly stretched across his face as he looked out of the corner of his eye at Angel. "Well I'd say I've proved him wrong. Don't you think?"

Angel started to give a slow, silent nod in agreement before she managed to get any words out. "Wow, I never knew your life was that rough… and that actually wasn't too long ago either."

"It seems like a millennium ago now. Things didn't get much better after my parents left, I had almost no money and I couldn't seem to get a job. For a long while it seemed my Dad was right… but that's when Michelle came in. She turned my life around. I met her one day in town and things just clicked. Before I could even blink it seemed me and her were always together, dating if you will. Which was to the disfavor of her parents. She was from a slightly more upper class family and her parents saw me as little more then a street urchin. I listened to her father on more then one occasion try to convince her to stop being with me. But she never faltered, she did what she wanted, she was rebellious… well as rebellious as one with money can be."

Kioko stopped, closed his eyes, lowered his head and gave a sigh. He was silent for a few moments before finally looking back out toward the water. "She was like no other girl I had ever known. smart, beautiful, kind, caring and yet strong and determined to live her life as she wanted to. I don't think she could have cared if she had even a penny in her pocket… just as long as she was doing what she wanted. Looking back I really don't see how a girl like her could have liked a guy like me."

Angel smiled. "I think I can understand why she liked you."

"You can huh?" asked Kioko as he looked at his partner.

Angel nodded her head. "I can. She liked you because you're just like her."

"What?" responded Kioko in a cynical tone.

"Think about it. All those things you said she was… are exactly the same as you are. You're kind, caring, intelligent and strong. Believe me, I should know. If you treated her like you do me… I couldn't blame her for falling for you."

Kioko's mouth fell open in surprise as he looked at Angel. She must have realized what she had said as well because she quickly turned away, blushing brighter then ever before. Instantly an awkward silence fell over the two of them. A silence heavy enough that it made it feel like a series of weights had just fallen upon them. Both of their minds swarmed with thoughts, trying to figure out what one another were thinking. One thought, one crazy thought in particular seemed to stand out in Kioko's mind. "Just what was going through Angel's mind?" Another odd thought began to brew in his mind, one that nearly made him blush, but he quickly pushed it aside.

The silence went on for what seemed like forever, neither of them looking at one another. But slowly they got back into the rhythm of conversation. The rosy blush faded into a sea of pink as Angel turned back toward Kioko, keeping one paw on the cheek facing him just in case. Kioko turned away from the view and leaned back against the railing, hooking his thumbs in his pants pockets casually. Another sigh escaped through his nose as he leaned his head back and looked up toward the stars.

Curiosity was beginning to force her embarrassment out and finally she was able to think clearly. "So… what… what happened?" Angel's demeanor changed to one of sympathy, trying to gently pull the rest of the story out of him.

"There was something me and her used to do all the time," started Kioko with the sound of sorrow in his voice. "There was a spot that we always went to that overlooked the ocean. We would just sit and watch the sunset; it was usually a quiet time between us, but at the same time it was when I grew more and more in love with her. She had the most beautiful eyes, eyes that looked toward the horizon with wonder and hope, as if she were looking into the future."

All those memories came rushing back to him; even the feelings came flooding back. He lowered his head, placed his hand on his forehead and slowly shook his head, trying to avoid the final memory of their time together.

"We must have gone to that spot a hundred times and each time I felt more and more attached to her. I began to think that we would never be apart… but then… came that fateful day. It had been raining for days, almost none stop, but finally the clouds broke and the island was bathed in sunlight. Michelle and me thought it was a perfect time to return to our spot, so we did that evening. We sat and looked over the ocean as always, but that's all that was the same. We didn't know it as we sat there but it turns out that all the rain had loosened the soil beneath us and had made our spot highly unstable. There were no trees close by and so there weren't any roots to hold the ground in place. Our weight, even just sitting there was beginning to break the piece of land off the overlook."

Kioko removed his hand and placed it on the railing behind him, his grip instantly began to tighten with anger and a sneer started to take shape on his face. "We didn't know it until it was too late. We suddenly felt a lurch downward and… and… I don't know what happened in that moment. I remember just suddenly getting up and jumping away, without a single thought toward Michelle. It wasn't until I heard a blood-curdling scream that I realized what I had done. I turned around to find our spot gone; I panicked and looked over the edge to see Michelle hanging on for dear life to a small stone that was sticking out from the wall. I reached down and tried to grab hold of her hand, I managed to do it but… our hands were wet from the muddy soil."

Kioko now clenched his teeth and his eyes in growing anger, he gripped the handrail so hard that his whole hand was turning white. Angel's ears remained behind her back as she clasped her paws together gingerly. She suddenly realized just what kind of painful things she had made him remember and a surge of guilt swept through her.

"I wasn't strong enough," growled Kioko furiously. "I wasn't strong enough and I couldn't hold on. I tried, god knows I tried with all my might… but I still couldn't hold on." Kioko's grip on the railing relaxed and he suddenly collapsed to the ground, his back against the railing and his hand gripped over his face. "That look, I can't forget that look on her face… as she slipped from my grip. The terror in those eyes as she fell, and disappeared into the waves. I have never felt so helpless in my life!" shouted Kioko as he slammed his fist into the floor. The outburst startled Angel and made her gasp. She had never seen him like this and it was actually scaring her. The pain he felt was clear on his face and she only wished she could do something, but just what should one do?

Kioko's anger calmed into a searing feeling, like embers after a flame. He breathed through his teeth as he fought against himself. "You have no idea what it's like to have to go and tell someone's parents that their dead when those parents already hated you. You have no idea."

Angel felt a pang in her chest as the desire to help her partner grew in her mind. It was driving her nuts; she didn't know what made her feel the way she did. The feeling was stronger than any she had ever felt before. And she needed to address it! With that Angel took a deep breath and walked over to Kioko. The boy lowered his hands and looked up at her as she stopped in front of him. Without warning she leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his neck tightly; a shocked expression flashed over his face as the pink experiment held tight.

"You're right, I have no idea how you feel," Angel said as she rubbed her head against his jaw. "But I see how your heart breaks every time you revisit those memories and I'm sorry I made you go return to them. I don't want to see you hurt like this," Tears began to well up in her eyes. "You're my partner, no my friend, you have me here to help, you know that," Angel's jaw was quivering as she fought to get her words out. That odd feeling was still getting stronger inside her; it felt as though the feeling was what was driving her words out. "I don't want you to feel like this."

Angel was suddenly surprised when Kioko hooked his hands under her armpits and pulled her away, setting her down on his lap and looking down on her with a warm smile, his pained expression gone without a trace. A confused look crossed her face as he ran one hand over her head. "You don't have to worry," blurted Kioko in a quiet, calm tone. "Even though thinking about losing her kills me on the inside, one look at you and I know it'll all be alright. And do you know why that is?" Angel shook her head slowly. "It's because I see her in you, you have the same look in your eyes that she did."

Angel Didn't know what to say, nothing in her mind made any sense. These feelings were a jumble, a blur in her heart. It felt like it would overwhelm her. "I can see I've made you speechless," laughed Kioko. "It's alright, you don't need to say anything."

Kioko picked Angel up once again and set her down on the ground, getting up to his feet in the process. "You know how much you mean to me, and maybe you don't." Kioko said as he squatted down and placed his hand back on her head. "But it's alright either way, so long as you know that you are precious to me and always will be."

**I was beginning to think I'd never finish this and I'm sorry to all those who thought you'd never see it. I've been having a serious issue with procrastination and lack of inspiration lately. I apologize to all who still read my work for he long waits. I'm trying to fix my problem. But thank you for all who still read my work, for the continued support. And one last sorry for the length of this chapter.**


	6. The Ball

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 6: The Ball

It didn't seem possible for the ship to have any more lights on it than it already had, but it appeared that it was quite possible. Lilo and Victoria felt as though it were Christmas, with all the colorful lights strung about in the branches of the trees standing outside the main hall. The warm greetings by the staff as they walked into the massive hall also added to the atmosphere. They couldn't help but gaze in amazement out over the floor. Hundreds of people dotted the floor with elaborate and elegant dresses and crisp, clean suits.

"Now you two behave now, ok. We don't want to be thrown out of here." Lilo said more or less out of habit rather than actually paying attention to Stitch, who was sitting grumpily at her feet.

The small experiment responded simply with a short growl. The smell of expensive perfume and cologne was already starting to bother him as they descended onto the floor. One thing he did like however was that despite the fact that his partner and her friend were dressed the part, they hardly stuck to the socialite code of conduct. Which meant that their first stop was the massive buffet. This of course was going to be Stitch's favorite part of the evening, and why wouldn't it, limitless free food was always something he enjoyed.

It wasn't long before the four of them were standing around the table, plates in hand, munching away at the superb foods laid out before them. Of course for Lilo and Victoria it didn't take long for the stomachs to become full and with that came the realization that they had no idea what to do. Looking around they saw very few people dancing to the piano music that came through the air, almost completely drowned out by the sound of conversation. It wasn't much of a ball in their opinion. The two girls gave heavy sighs as they leaned back against the table.

"Is it just me or did we get a bit too excited over this thing?" asked Victoria as she watched a man who looked shockingly like the Monopoly guy walk past.

"Eh, it's not just you." replied Lilo disappointingly.

"Yeah, I mean seriously, what was I thinking? Stuff like this is usually only fun if there's a chance of finding a cute guy to dance with. But there is no guy here who is younger than my grandpa, for crying out loud!" Victoria said as a Colonel Sanders look-a-like walked past.

"Are guys all you can think about?" giggled Lilo.

"I really want a boyfriend." whined Victoria as her head fell to her chest.

Lilo just rolled her eyes. "You know it's a rather broad generalization to say that every guy here is as old as your grandpa," said a familiar voice from the other side of the table. "Rather insulting too."

The two girls and their experiments turned around to find Kioko leaning against the table, his back to them. "Kioko!" shouted the two girls in unison.

"My god, would you two stop acting surprised to see me. You've known I was here for how many days now? Geez, you might want to have you memories checked." sighed the boy as he turned to face them.

"Well, what are you doing here?" asked Lilo.

"I suppose the same thing you two are. I got an invite to this thing and so I thought I'd see how it was. Is there a problem with that?"

"Wherfff fif Anfel?" blurted Stitch, spraying Kioko with a mouth filled with turkey leg.

Kioko put his hand to his forehead and slowly wiped it down his face, clearing the turkey juice and alien saliva from his face. "What was that now?" asked Kioko sounding a little irritated.

"He said wherff Anfel." said Snooty spraying the boy once again with a mouthful of turkey.

Kioko paused as he glared at the bat before once again wiping his face. "Lovely way to start the evening."

The girls couldn't help but chuckle a little. "I think they asked where Angel is?" blurted Lilo.

"Yeah, I've never seen her far from your side." added Victoria.

"She doesn't come with me every where. Tonight she wanted some time to herself. Which means she wanted to watch her favorite show, 'Iron Chef America'. Don't ask me why it's her favorite, because I have no clue."

"She trying to be an aspiring chef?" asked Stitch laughingly after swallowing his turkey.

Kioko shrugged. "I wouldn't mind it, at least I'd have a woman to cook for me."

" Well that's rather sexist." said Lilo scoldingly.

"Relax, I was joking." he smiled as he popped an appetizer in his mouth.

Kioko just laughed as the girls glared at him. But at that same moment, unknown to them a large, dark man, stood on the other end of the room, watching the three closely, like a predator's upon prey. Just then a beeping noise emitted from the watch on his wrist, followed by a sinister voice. "What is your status?" snarled the voice.

The man causally held his wrist to his mouth. "All three are here, but I only see 626 and that bat." said the man in a deep, commanding voice.

"Don't worry about 624, we have confirmation of her location. We will take care of her. Inform Chizo and Valdez to begin the operation at the signal." The voices tone changed to one of pleasure and anxiousness.

"Yes, sir. But if I may ask, why would you want them to attack if you want to attack them yourself?"

"It's simple, by having them attack we may find out what their moves are and thus make it an easy victory for me."

"I see, well I will continue to observe the targets until the signal."

"See that you do, Cobra." said the voice with a final click, signaling the end of the transmission.

Back over with Kioko and the girls a quiet moment had fallen over them. Stitch and Snooty continued to shovel food into their mouths while their partners just gazed lazily around the room, trying to find something interesting to do. The ball was certainly nothing like they had imagined, they would be dancing if they could just manage to fit onto the dance floor that was covered by fluffy dresses or if they had anyone to dance with. Kioko was also staring around the room, but his expression was not one of boredom but one of heightened awareness. Something just didn't sit well with him, there seemed to be something in the air that made him feel rather unnerved. As he looked over his shoulder at the girls it became obvious to him that they didn't feel the same. Their experiments weren't picking up on anything either.

'What could it be," asked Kioko to himself in his mind. 'I know there's something wrong with this place, but what?' He began looking at all the people carefully, trying to find any sign of hidden intent. He then looked closely at the room itself. 'Could it be that they have a trap set in here somewhere? No, it couldn't be. They wouldn't spring a trap with all these innocent people here would they?'

As he looked toward the front of the room, where the band played atop a small stage set up at the bottom of the staircase, his eyes fell onto a large, dark man as he stepped out from behind the curtains, seemed to look directly at him and then down at his watch. Kioko's eyes narrowed with suspicion as he watched the man slowly turn and walk back beyond the curtains.

"Something certainly isn't right," said Kioko quietly to himself. The boy casually walked down and around the table, coming up next to Lilo and Victoria who were practically dead with boredom. They didn't seem to perk up at all as he stopped in front of them. "Well you two are lively tonight."

"This has to be the dullest thing I've ever done." blurted Victoria.

"Well I don't think that feeling is going to be lasting much longer," he said as he looked back over at the top of the stairs.

Lilo looked toward the stairs as well, saw nothing and then looked back toward Kioko. "What makes you say that?"

Kioko just shook his head and wiped his mouth. "Something just doesn't feel right about this, don't ask me exactly what because I don't know. But it'd be smart of you to keep an eye out."

"That's ridiculous," blurted Stitch as he chugged a cup of soda. "If something was going to happen we would have sensed it, you just need to relax."

"You know Stitch, I find it funny that you were so combative with this whole vacation thing and then seamlessly you begin to enjoy yourself." smirked Lilo.

"Yeah, what happened that made you change your mind?" asked Victoria curiously.

Stitch just looked between the two girls and gave a casual shrug. "I don't know, I just got used to the idea. Besides, it hasn't been as bad here as I thought it would be. As a matter of fact it has been rather enjoyable… and the food ain't bad neither," said Stitch as he picked up another piece of chicken and sunk his teeth into it. "Why can't your sister cook like this?"

"Nani isn't exactly a gourmet chef." blurted Lilo toward Kioko as if she were letting him in on a secret.

The boy just raised an eyebrow and gave a heavy sigh. "I'm glad to hear that you've all had such a wonderful time but I think it's very important that we keep our guard up right now."

The boy's tone seemed frustrated and this only invoked a pang of suspicion in Lilo. She leaned off the table, turned and faced him, holding her hands to her hips. "I've got to ask, why is our safety and awareness so important to you now? Why are you telling us all this? Going by your reputation it's safe to assume that you'd have no reason or desire to help out your opponents, you'd have nothing to gain."

To say that Kioko's face was serious would have been an understatement. His dark eyes just fell upon the girl like icy daggers. For a moment she almost regretted asking the questions. "There is something for us to gain by keeping you around," started Kioko, his voice just as sterile and cold as his face. "We have our own will to fight. You see, you and Stitch are by far the strongest we've fought so far and you are the only ones ever to have been spared. Why? Because, by keeping an opponent as strong as you around, we have a way to gauge our own progress and we also gain a goal by which to train by. Without you, there would be no challenges and no reason to get stronger." Lilo, Stitch and Victoria and Snooty as well were stupefied. But as Lilo continued to stare into his face she realized that deep down her and Stitch's motivation was the same.

Kioko and Angel had been the only ones ever to have defeated them so badly. And since then, becoming stronger in order defeat them was the driving force behind it all and she was sure that it was the same for Stitch.

"It's the same for you isn't it?" blurted Kioko, a look of surprise shot across the girls face. "I can see it in your eyes, you're the same as us."

Lilo's head fell, perhaps trying to hide what ever it was that he saw in her eyes. But just as she looked away Stitch dropped the bone of a chicken leg onto a plate and hopped off the table, standing between Kioko and Lilo. The little experiment stared up at the boy with just as serious of a look as he gave.

"No, we aren't the same," Lilo's mouth fell open slightly as she watched her partner. "Unlike you we know that we can become stronger through allies as well and not just through rivalry. Friendships are what make us stronger."

Lilo was speechless; she had never heard her friend speak so intensely before. It was actually intimidating, but you couldn't tell by looking at Kioko's face, he seemed unfazed by it. It seemed to have had the opposite affect as a smirk crossed the boys face.

"That's an awfully noble thing to say, but you can't deny that in the end alliances must be broken. Only one can win."

Stitch's eyes narrowed in a glare, but again, the boy seemed unfazed. The two plunged into a staring match, with Lilo looking nervously between the two of them. Suddenly, the soft piano music stopped and the man in the purple tux appeared once again at the top of the stairs.

"Ladies and Gentleman, may I have your attention please," everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked up at the man. Kioko's eyes narrowed and his fists clenched, it was about to happen. "I have an announcement from Mr.Vandercamp. So if you'll please direct your attention to the large monitor above me, it will be greatly appreciated."

With that the man bowed and backed away behind the large red curtains, as a massive television screen dropped down from the ceiling above. Instantly the face of Mr.Vandercamp appeared, a sly smirk stretched across his face. "Greetings to all of you here tonight, I'm sorry to interrupt your good time but I have a most important message to give you. I would also like to apologize for not showing up in person, but I do have some very important business to attend to. Anyway, my message unfortunately is that all of you must leave the ship immediately,"

A sudden concerned murmur began to erupt from the crowd, but Vandercamp's commanding voice drowned it out. "I assure you that nothing is wrong with the ship, but I have some important matters to attend to with a few of you here tonight, those few know who you are. So I must ask the rest of you to proceed to the lifeboats as quickly as possible."

The crowd did not budge from their spots; they just continued to talk amongst themselves in worried tones. Just then two men came out from either side of the red curtain. One was a Latino looking man with a red tux and greased back hair; the other man was Asian looking with a brown t-shirt, tan pants and a wild look on his face. Small creatures escorted each of them. Standing beside the Latino man was a yellow creature with short, round ears, large blue eyes and long y-tipped antenna protruding from its nose. The other creature resembled a phoenix, with a long tale that seemed to be made of flames, bright colored feathers and a crest upon its head, sat perched upon the man's arm.

"Experiments!" blurted Stitch with a growl.

"I hate to say I told you so, but… I told you so." said Kioko as he looked back and forth between the two men.

"Now, as I said," continued Vandercamp. "Please proceed to the life boats," the crowd did not budge, they remained still and confused. Vandercamp gave an irritated sigh. "Valdez, get these people moving." commanded Mr.Vandercamp.

The man in the red suit nodded and reached into his over coat, a moment later he pulled out a red book and opened it. The page instantly began to glow and the experiment raised its arm up toward the ceiling.

"Rio-Zigar!" the man shouted.

Instantly sparks of electricity surrounded the experiments arm and a second later a massive bolt of lighting shot into the ceiling, creating a shower of debris that finally sent the people scattering and running for the doors. The room was filled with screaming as people pushed and shoved past one another, trying to make it to safety. Kioko felt unarmed without Angel at his side, but the chaos gave him the perfect opportunity to go and retrieve her.

"Lilo, Victoria, do you think you could handle these guys for a little while?" asked Kioko whispering loudly in order to over come the screaming.

The two girls looked at each other, then at their experiments and then back at Kioko. "I think so, but why do you ask?" said Lilo in a confused tone.

"I can use these people as cover in order to get out of here, I'll get to my room and bring Angel back here in order to help, besides, she'd hate me if I left her out of this fight."

"How can we trust that you'll actually come back?" asked Victoria suspiciously.

Kioko just gave her a glare. "You're just going to have to trust me."

Lilo looked back at the two men and gave a sigh. "Fine, go, but promise me you will return."

Kioko just smiled. "It's a promise."

Without another word Kioko turned and ran with the crowd toward the door, he quickly managed to squeeze out. Lilo, Victoria and their experiments were now the only ones left in the center of the room, the massive face of Vandercamp still looking down upon them with a sinister smirk.

"Well, experiment 626 and friends, I'm so glad that you could stay. I have so much planned for you; I can guarantee that the rest of this evening will be very interesting." said Vandercamp with an arrogant expression.

"More interesting then that stupid ball of yours I hope!" shouted Victoria rebelliously.

Mr. Vandercamp just gave a small laugh. "Well I'm sorry to hear that you didn't find it fun, but after all it wasn't really aimed toward you youngsters. But I'm sure you'll find that my associates here will keep you on your toes. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have other things to attend to."

The large screen turned black and began to rise back up into the ceiling as the two men began walking forward and made their way down the stairs. They came to a stop at the bottom and smiled at the friends. "Oh we'll do more than just keep you on your toes." laughed the man in the brown shirt.

"You'll have to excuse my partner, he's just been itching for a fight lately." blurted the phoenix in a strong feminine voice.

"I think we all have," smirked Valdez as his book began to glow once again. "Now, Rio-Zigar!"

The yellow experiment aimed its arm toward the group and fired of another lighting bolt. The girls barely managed to leap away before the electricity smashed into the floor, kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Well this ought to be fun." said the yellow experiment as the dust cleared and reveled the two girls, spell books in hand and their experiments at their side, ready for a fight. Meanwhile, Kioko had made it back to the building where his and Angel's room was. He was breathing heavily as he ran up the stairs all the way to the top. His thoughts raced as he leapt up multiple stairs at once.

'I knew that this thing was too coincidental! The fact that nearly all those who received those free tickets had experiments, and the fact that most of those experiments have been defeated in secret obviously shows what his intentions were to that extent. But why would they keep us around, what interest does he have in us?'

He finally reached the top floor and he bolted down the hallway toward the room. But something suddenly didn't feel right; he could see ahead of him where their room was but a ray of light was stretched out across the hallway in front of it. Was the door open? No. His eyes widened with confusion and fright as he found their room door hanging by a hinge. He instantly kicked the door open and ran inside, the condition of the room intensified his feelings. The room was a wreck, destroyed in such a way as to suggest a struggle. The dresser was smashed to pieces, glass form the sliding door lay everywhere, scratch marks covered the walls and the most frightening thing; there was no sign of Angel.

He began to search the room in a panic, trying to find any sign of her. His worst fear was that he'd find a scorch mark just as they had seen before, but he didn't find one. He didn't find anything, the book or her. His fright and panic slowly gave rise to sheer anger. His teeth clenched and his fists hardened, his ferocity finally broke loose as he sent his fist straight through the wall.

"Those bastards, they had this whole thing planned out! But they won't get away with it, I won't let them!" screamed Kioko as he withdrew his fist and sprinted out the door. In a flash he was back at the stair well, bounding downwards with agile leaps. He was back at the bottom in just a few seconds, but suddenly the feeling of hopelessness hit him like a bullet. How was he supposed to find her on such a massive ship, they could have taken her anywhere. The bridge, deep in the ship, on one of observation platforms, in one of the other buildings, she could be anywhere. And had no time to waste going and looking in all those places, it only took a moment for a book to burn; he could already be to late.

Just then, as he dropped his head in despair, he noticed three scratches along the edge of a manhole cover a few feet away. His hopes suddenly returned as he skidded to a stop beside the cover. Without a second thought he pried his fingers around the edges of the cover and with very little effort lifted the cover off and flung it aside. He stared down into the hole to find a hallway running not ten feet below.

"They will not escape." sneered Kioko before he plunged down into the hole.

Finally some action! Anyway, that's the end of this chapter. I hope you all enjoyed it and I hope that you will review it. Thank you.


	7. The Battle Begins

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 7: The Battle Begins

"You're going to have to do better than that!" yelled Stitch as he glared at the yellow experiment.

An amused smile crossed the experiments face. "Oh 6-2-6, I've heard so much about you, you can't believe how exciting it is for me to fight you." He said with an anxious sound in his voice.

"If you're so eager to fight then quit talking and fight." snapped Stitch as he cracked his knuckles.

"Don't be so hasty, 6-2-6," blurted the phoenix. "It's only appropriate that we know each others names before we destroy one another. My name is Tori, this is Chizo, my partner." said the experiment as she raised a wing toward her partner.

"My name, appropriately, is Sparky," said the experiment as he pointed his thumb toward himself. "And this is Valdez."

"My name is…" started Victoria before she was interrupted by Tori.

"No need for you two to introduce yourselves, we know all about you."

"We've been keeping a close eye on all of you ever since you set foot on this ship," added Valdez. "There wasn't a single minute where one of us wasn't watching you."

"Well that's awfully creepy, not to mention rude." snapped Victoria.

"It's called strategy," blurted Sparky. "Now, if you don't mind, I am rather eager to begin." said the experiment as he raised his arm toward the group.

A smile crossed over Stitch's face as he lowered his body into a ready position. "So am I." smirked Stitch.

A similar smile crossed Sparky's mouth just as the spelled was called out and another large bolt of lighting shot toward them. Another explosion rocked the building filling it with a grey cloud.

"I'll take on the winged rodent." said Tori as she watched the purple bat erupt from the top of the cloud.

Snooty stopped and hovered in mid air as a blue glow emanated from the cloud. "Gikair!" came Victoria's voice, summoning the swirling green ball of wind that formed in front of Snooty. The bat's spell blasted toward Tori and Chizo, yet their expression seemed indifferent as Tori took to flight and hovered a few feet in front of her partner, directly in the path of the attack.

"Fuerga!" cackled Chizo as his red book glowed with fiery light.

The bird opened its beak and launched a fireball directly toward Snooty's attack. The two spells collided with tremendous force sending out a shockwave that knocked Snooty back, however Tori barely budged. "You are going to have to do better than that, boy." Tori said in a mocking tone as she flew up with great speed toward Snooty.

Just then Chizo flipped a couple pages in his book. "Let's make this more interesting, Ronzo-Fuerga!" screamed Chizo with a psychotic smile.

Tori instantly began to barrel roll straight toward Snooty. There was a flash as the phoenix erupted in flame, turning into a spiraling mass of flame. A gasp escaped the bat as he barely managed to avoid the attack, but despite it not being a direct hit the heat from the flame scorched his fur and skin, making him wince in pain. The bird's attack continued toward the ceiling and was about to make an impact when it suddenly curved away, and headed straight back toward Snooty. He dove away from the attack but the flaming bird followed his every move. He swooped down past the ground trying to get her to collide with something, but again she curved away.

Snooty shot up toward the ceiling, Tori not far behind. He got as close as he could to the ceiling a she could, almost pressing his back against it. He gritted his teeth as the heat increased as she drew near. It was almost unbearable, if he stayed there any longer not only wood she hit him but she might just cook him too. So finally, at the last possible second he ducked away. Finally she slammed into the ceiling, the force once again knocking Snooty back. He stopped himself and looked back at the cloud of dust. Certainly an impact like that should have at least some damage to her. But to Snooty's dismay the cloud cleared revealing Tori unscathed.

"Not bad for a weakling like you." said Tori with mocking praise.

Back on the ground, Stitch and Lilo had made their way around to the other side of the table. Valdez and Sparky looked at them with amusement. "Is it our turn to start yet?" asked Sparky impatiently.

"When ever you're ready." grinned Stitch.

A toothy grin once again stretched across Sparky's maw. "Excellent, Valdez!" called the experiment.

The man began to flip pages in the yellow book, stopping about half way through. A bright yellow light grew from the pages while Sparky aimed his arm toward Stitch and Lilo. Both of them readied themselves for his lighting spell, but it wasn't the same.

"Senbokarga!" cried the man. Sparky's arm began to glow with sparks of electricity. Suddenly hundreds of electrified needles shot out from the fur on his arm. Stitch, thinking quickly, turned around, grabbed Lilo and leapt up into the air with her. The storm of needles crashed into the ground where they stood, sending smaller bolts of electricity in every direction.

Sparky laughed amusingly as he watched the two soar through the air. "A very impressive move, 6-2-6. But let's see you dodge it this time!"

"Senbokarga!" called the man once more.

Stitch and Lilo both gasped as another stream of needles flew toward them. "What do we do now? We can't evade in mid air!" said Lilo in a calmer voice than would be expected by her expression.

Once again a quick idea popped into Stitch's mind. He held tight to Lilo's waist with one arm, spun around to face the ceiling and cocked his one free fist back. "Lilo, use the Fisten spell!"

"But why?" asked Lilo.

"Just do it!" shouted Stitch

Lilo nodded and opened the book, which instantly began to glow. "Fisten!"

Stitch's paw began to glow just before he sent a flurry of punches and shots of energy toward the ceiling. Suddenly Lilo realized his plan, the force of his attack would propel them downward away from Sparky's attack. And that's exactly what it did. Lilo and Stitch shot downward just as the needles passed by. Stitch quickly flipped around again as the ground came up quickly. He landed on his free paw, stopping them dead in their tracks. He set Lilo down before leaping to his feet. Once again Sparky was laughing joyously.

"You really are full of surprises! You're certainly no disappointment! But I'm afraid there will be no dodging this one, it'll get you for sure." Grinned Sparky as he raised both his arms toward them. The yellow book began to glow brighter.

"Dioga-Senbokarga!" screamed Valdez.

Sparky's blue eyes began to glow with the same yellow light as his book. His arms turned an almost golden color and a split second later thousands more needles shot forth. Both Lilo and stitch's jaws fell slightly as they watched the wall of glowing needles fly toward them, tearing up the ground; walls and what remained of the table. But this time it was Lilo's turn to think quickly, she flipped a page in the book and summoned as much power as she could.

With a rebel yell she cried. "Daoshi!"

A second later the needles over took them. The powerful attack slammed into the front wall of the building, obliterating everything in a monstrous explosion that knocked both Snooty and Tori out of the air, Victoria was even knocked backwards slightly. It felt as though the entire building would collapses as the repercussion of the explosion rocked the area. Sparky looked on in grim pleasure as the smoke began to clear. It revealed to them all that the spell had blasted a massive hole in the front of the building. But Sparky's eyes suddenly widened in amazement, as a glowing blue dome appeared from the smoke and a moment later Lilo and Stitch became visible within.

At first Sparky thought they had blocked the attack completely, but he suddenly noticed a few of his needles sticking into the shield and numerous cracks covering it. What he didn't see right away is that some of the needles had penetrated all the way through, leaving both Stitch and Lilo with a few bleeding cuts.

"Well, you managed to get a shield up and stop most of my attack, very nice," smirked Sparky as she raised one palm into the air. "But I have something that'll take care of that shield."

Valdez once again began to flip pages in his book. He stopped and the book began to glow. "Garuga-Zigar!"

Sparks of electricity began to gather in the palm of Sparky's paw, forming into an electrical sphere that sent bolts of lighting into the ceiling. With a grin Sparky gripped the sphere and drove it into the floor. A massive crack suddenly appeared in the floor, racing toward Lilo and Stitch, shots of electricity shot out form the crack as an unseen bolt of electricity flowed under the floor. Without even a slight bit of difficulty the crack appeared in side the shield beneath Lilo and Stitch's feet.

'It went under the shield!' thought Lilo just before an explosion shattered their shield from the inside out.

Sparky began to laugh manically as he watched shards of their shield clatter to the ground before fading away. His laughter ceased however when a bright blue light suddenly shone out from the dust. Suddenly, Stitch burst from the cloud, his fist raging with energy. Sparky and Valdez narrowly managed to leap away as Stitch's fist slammed into the ground where Sparky stood. No sooner had Sparky recovered then Stitch wrenched his fist from the floor and charged him again, this time without a spell. Stitch threw one punch, and then another, but to his shock Sparky caught both of them with little difficulty.

"I've heard that your spells are supposedly some of the strongest ever created by Jumba," said Sparky as he held off Stitch's fists. "You have very unique spells as well. Most of Jumba's creations have primarily long range to medium range attacks, which seemed suitable for how Jumba wanted fights to go. But you, he had different ideas for you. An Experiment whose man strength was close range combat, utilizing pure strength, you were a new breed of design."

Sparky suddenly pulled his head back and then drove it forward, head butting Stitch and sending him stumbling backwards. Sparky then cocked his own fist back, while Valdez flipped another page in the book. "However, you are not the only with close range spells!" shouted Sparky.

"Marou-Zigar!" said Valdez, summoning a spherical ball of electricity to form around Sparky's fist.

The experiment lunged forward and drove his fist into Stitch's gut. In a shower of sparks Stitch was sent flying backward, smacking into the ground just feet from Lilo. But even after landing sparks of electricity continued to shot across Stitch's body. He clenched his teeth as a searing pain swept through his entire body. He then realized that he was incapable of moving his arms or his legs. Though excruciating he managed to raise his head and speak.

"What… what did you do?" asked Stitch weakly as Lilo knelt beside him.

Sparky grinned. "We experiments are like computers, we have very delicate systems. And that spell is designed to disrupt those systems, you won't be moving any time soon."

Meanwhile, down in the bowls of the ship, Kioko was making quick but quiet progress toward his partner. Though he was scared to death over what may have happened, he couldn't help but feel proud. She had apparently put up a struggle the entire way, leaving slash marks on the walls every so often, making a clear trail for him to follow. It wasn't an easy trail though. Security cameras and guards were numerous throughout the corridors of polished metal; luckily he had managed to avoid detection.

As he approached the end of one corridor the sound of two men talking reached his ears. Stealthily, he slid along the wall and peaked around the corner spotting two guards with their backs to him talking about something. He was in a tight spot, up until now he had made a point of avoiding guards, but now his only option was to go through them. He had to take both out quickly and quietly or else he'd only attract more attention. He looked at the guard's belts and saw that they each carried radios, this just made things worse. It would only take a second or two for one of the guards to call in, he had to move fast. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath; breathing out slowly he readied himself.

With one last sigh he turned the corner and bolted toward the guards. The two men instantly heard his approaching steps and turned toward him, but by then it was too late. With a powerful leap Kioko rose into the air and brought his foot around, hitting both men across the face and knocking them unconscious. Kioko landed and then stood with a confident smile, it couldn't have gone better in his mind.

"That was way too easy," said Kioko to himself. "This Vandercamp guy really needs to higher better security." Suddenly, the lights in the hall way turned from white to red and a piercing siren began to howl through the hallways.

"Warning, all security personnel, intruder alert, intruder alert. All security personnel report" called a feminine voice over the loud speakers.

"How the hell did they find me out?" snapped Kioko angrily as he looked around. He looked up toward the ceiling and to his surprise he found himself staring face to face with a camera, recessed into the ceiling. "Damn it!"

Just then the sound of heavy boots and shouting began to echo through the corridors. Kioko clenched his teeth and looked around, trying to figure something out. But it quickly became apparent to him that he would have to fight the rest of the way. He looked back at the two downed guards and spotted the pistols on their belts. He quickly retrieved the weapons and the few extra clips they had on them. Clicking the safety on the guns off Kioko took off running. He didn't know the lay out of the ship well and so he had to keep moving, if he didn't he ran the risk of being surrounded.

Just as he turned another corner he noticed more scratches leading up to a set of large, unmarked metal doors. With a quick glance around he made his way over; stopping just in front of it he pressed his ear against the doors, hoping to hear something. But all was silent, save for the alert bell still ringing. In a momentary lapse of judgment Kioko stepped back and kicked the doors in. The door's swung open to reveal that he was at the top of a large storage area, with crates littering the floor and stacked as high as the ceiling. Unfortunately, crates weren't the only things inside. Kioko instantly saw, five heavily armed guards across the room and they saw him.

The boy's heart skipped a beat as the guards took aim and opened fire with sub-machine guns. Bullets ricocheted all around Kioko as he rolled away behind a column in the corner of the room. The shells continued to bounce and explode all around him as he pressed his back against he column.

"What the hell did I get myself into?" said Kioko through heavy breath. Kioko suddenly began to shake his head quickly back and fourth, trying to disperse the clouds of doubt that had begun to form in his mind. "No, I'm not going to start questioning this. I'm not going to die here, I must get to her. No one is going to stand in my way!" shouted Kioko.

He quickly rose to his feet and stepped out form behind the column, opening fire with both pistols he managed to take out two of the guards before retreating behind the column once more. But he couldn't stay there; it'd be too easy for them to flank him. So, clenching his teeth he ran out from behind the column, bullets still crashing around him and his own guns blazing, and made it behind the column in the opposite corner. He had more cover here, as a series of crates were stacked up past the railing that ran around the upper floor of the room. With his back to the pillar he peaked around the right side, but just as he did one of the remaining guards came around the corner and opened fire. Kioko quickly pulled his head back as bullets smacked into the side of the column.

The bullets suddenly stopped and Kioko heard the sound of the guns magazine dropping out. The guard was reloading. The boy took the chance and turned back around the corner, catching the guard by surprise and taking him down. He bolted down the way and stopped next to the downed guard and picked up his weapon and finished loading it. And with a creative idea in his head he aimed the gun at the crates in front of him, angling it toward the last place he had seen the guards. He pulled back the trigger and sprayed the crates with bullets, emptying the clip. A moment after the gun feel silent he heard a loud thud. He snuck forward and peaked around the corner, the last guard was down.

'I can't believe that actually worked, what was in those crates?' thought Kioko as he looked back at the boxes. To his surprise the word "Pillows" was stamped on the side of the crates. 'I had pillows for protection, lovely.'

Already feeling exhausted he forced himself onward, after gathering ammo for his new weapon he pushed his way through a series of similar rooms all crawling with guards and coming out with out a scratch. Finally he made it back into the familiar white corridors. He found himself, however, at a crossroads. His heart sank a little as he found himself stating down three different corridors. He looked around carefully, looking for any sign of his partner, but he couldn't find a single trace. He had a growing feeling inside that time was running out and it only made a sense of panic sweep through him.

He had to make a decision quickly, and it had to be the right one, he had no time to spare. He looked to the center, it was the longest and had the most doors leading off from it, he looked to the right, it was the shortest and ended with another series of large doors, and finally to his left. The last corridor had no doors along it but at its end was a set of stairs leading downward into the ship.

'Which way is it?" thought Kioko frantically. 'Down the center? No, that's too risky. Guards could pop out from those doors once I'm done there and I'd be a goner for sure. The right? There could be a holding area beyond those double doors, but…'

Kioko looked up at the ceiling as if he were looking up the side of a tall building. 'But we're still close to the street level. I've only descended about four decks. And if I were trying to hold some one where they would stand the least chance of escape or rescue I'd put them as far down in the ship as possible,' Kioko looked to his left at the stair case. 'Which means, that I should go left, I just hope I'm right.'

Kioko ran off down the left hall, but just as he did a bullet struck the floor at his feet. He quickly wiped around to see six guards pouring out form the right hall and a moment later five more from the center. Kioko didn't even bother reaching for his weapons; he just turned and ran for the staircase. A childish smile appeared on his face as he leapt onto a silver handrail that ran down the center of the stairs. He quickly descended, sliding down the rail like a kid on a banister. He was nearly home free as the end of the stairs came up, but suddenly, two guards appeared at the bottom, aiming their weapons right at him. There was no way he could avoid them, his heart seemed to stop as he saw them draw back the triggers. He winced as their guns clicked, but a moment later he realized that they had not fired. The guards had forgotten to arm their weapons! Once again Kioko had gotten the perfect chance, he landed at the bottom of the stairs and quickly grabbed the guns from the guards hands. With a couple of quick punches both of the guards went down.

Just then, bullets began to land all around him; one of them connected with the gun Kioko was carrying on his back and made him stumble forward a little. After a quick glance back Kioko took off down the corridor, the guards following close behind. No matter how fast he ran through the twisting corridors the guards never seemed to fall behind, instead they seemed to be slowly gaining. His breathing was heavy and sweat was running down his face as he zigzagged through the passageways, trying to lose his pursuers. Finally, he found a way to get away. He came to a set of elevators at the end of a hall. He wasn't picky about which one he took, as he rapidly pressed the buttons on both. The sound of boots grew closer and closer, making Kioko's heart beat faster and faster.

It sounded like they were right around the corner when finally one of the doors opened and the boy rushed inside. But escaping wasn't his only concern; he needed to go lower in the ship, where he was sure they held his partner. The doors began to shut just as the group of guards came around the corner. Kioko gasped and stepped to the side as they opened fire on the elevator. But he was safe, the doors closed and the elevator started down. But he still wasn't out of the woods yet, upon losing their target one of the guards called into, presumably, the control room, ordering that the elevators be shut down.

Kioko was feeling exhausted at this point. He collapsed against the wall with a heavy sigh, it seemed to be getting harder to breathe the further down he went. But despite his exhaustion and worry a smile managed to find its way onto his face, followed soon by a gentle laugh. "So much for a relaxing vacation," smiled Kioko as he stared up at the ceiling. "I come here to relax and suddenly I've become an action hero or something. Rambo, maybe. Michelle, if you could see me now."

He closed his eyes slowly, with a smile still on his face. But suddenly the lights in the elevator went dead and the whole lift shook violently. 'They've cut the power.' was Kioko's first thought. He wasted no time and quickly found a hatch in the ceiling of the elevator. He climbed out onto the top of the elevator and looked around. Emergency lights ran along the walls of the elevator shaft as far up and as far down as Kioko could see. A sound suddenly caught his ear from above. He looked up to see a few sets of doors being pried open and guards shouting at him to remain still. But he wasn't going to just give up now. He had come too far to let himself get caught now. His thoughts of being an action hero suddenly returned in the form of inspiration, as he looked toward the emergency lights and saw a ladder running between them. In that instant he concocted his escape and a smirk crossed his lips.

"Do not move or we'll shot," shouted one of the guards as he centered his gun's sight on Kioko's back. "Put up your hands and get down on your knees." continued the guard.

"Yes sir," Kioko replied obediently, doing just what the man had ordered. "You finally got me, but I guess that was to be expected from a security force hired by the great Mr.Vandercamp."

Kioko turned his head and looked up at the guard with a sly smirk still on his face. The guard didn't seem to pay much mind to it. "Yeah, yeah. Now don't move, we're sending down a couple guys to bring you up. No funny business, or you'll be holeyer than Swiss cheese."

"Got it, sir." said Kioko. Just then, Kioko got a chance, the guard turned away and looked back into the hall. Without skipping a beat Kioko leapt up and jumped across the shaft. His heart stopped as he barely managed to grab onto the rungs of the ladder. "I'm afraid that I have previous arrangements, gentleman. Please excuse me!" laughed Kioko as he grabbed onto the edge of the ladder and began sliding down.

The guards once again began to open fire, but Kioko soon disappeared from sight. It probably took half an hour for Kioko to make it to the bottom of the shaft. The palms of his hands were burnt and blistered from sliding down the ladder, even though he did take short breaks. Crawling through a maintenance tunnel he found at the bottom he finally made his way out into another large hall. But this one was different, the ceiling was twice as high and instead of the pure white walls there were countless pipes and wires. He guessed he was close to the ships power source, given the low hum that filled the air. As he crawled out into the middle of the passage way he felt his hope return. Because at one end of the corridor there stood a set of massive steel doors.

To most the site would not inspire hope, the doors seemed like they would be more fitting in a fortress than on a ship. But to him, they only stood as the finish line; he knew he had found where they were keeping his Angel. He no longer found himself concerned with any cameras or other security measures; he could only focus on what might lye beyond the doors. Without thinking he started to sprint toward the doors, as he got closer he could see some light slipping through the crack in the door. Kioko stopped in front of the door and placed his hands on the cold metal, he began to push. To his surprise the doors began to move with very little difficulty. With an ominous creak the doors swung wide open and revealed a large, multileveled chamber. Pipes, like trees, rose from the floor and spread out across the chamber, it seemed like a technological forest.

But none of it mattered as he walked into the room. As his eyes scanned the area they fell upon a site that made his give a sigh of relief. In the center of the room, held by metal chains and suspended in the air was Angel, he head hung low, unconscious.

Back up at the battle, Stitch was struggling to push himself up, but the pain was too intense and he could not do it. "I told you that it is no use," laughed Sparky as he began walking toward the experiment. "You are helpless."

'This isn't good,' thought Lilo as she looked down at her injured friend. 'That spell had too great an affect, what should we do?'

Suddenly, to Lilo and Sparky's amazement Stitch managed to push himself up to his knees. "Lilo," said Stitch through the searing pain. "Use that one new spell of ours."

Lilo was surprised by her friend's request. "But Stitch, you know it uses up too much energy, you'd only have one chance."

A toothy grin managed to fight it's way past the pain and onto Stitch's maw. "One chance is all I'll need."

**Well that's the chapter. Sorry for it being so late. Things were busy around here. Anyway, I'm not to pleased with the ending of the chapter but I hope you don't feel the same. Please Review.**


	8. Evil Revealed

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 8: Evil Revealed

Reluctantly, Lilo began to flip through the pages of her book and finally came upon the spell. Her uncertainty was tremendous as the book began to glow, the spell her friend had requested was unlike all the others, it had consequences to its use. Her and Stitch had unlocked it during a fight with a fairly lower leveled experiment, they had been anxious to see what it did and used it promptly. Its affects became obvious, but it's side affects didn't appear till after the battle. The spell was powerful, but it took its energy not just from the book and subsequently form her, but from Stitch as well, and almost as soon as the spell dispersed he was crippled by exhaustion.

Lilo knew this was the last place she'd want that to happen, if the attack failed, they'd be wide open. But she had to trust in her friend, they had no other option. The spell book erupted in light as Lilo pushed as much energy into it as she could, perhaps she could lessen the after affects?

"It's pointless, you fools!" called Sparky with a manic cry. "There is nothing you can do!"

"You don't know what we can do," said Lilo. "Ryo-Diorga." said Lilo with a cold glare in her eyes.

The brilliant light from the book suddenly disappeared, bringing a humored look upon Sparky's face. "Well it looks like your spell failed, my attack must have done more than I thought."

No sooner had the experiment said that than Stitch suddenly became engulfed in the same light as the book and a smile crossed his lips. Sparky's mouth dropped open in shock as Stitch began to move without any difficulty. Stitch stood up and began to stretch while the light continued to surround him like an inferno.

"That's impossible, how can you be moving!" shouted Sparky in anger and confusion.

"It's simple," blurted Stitch with an heir of confidence in his voice. "This spell counteracts it, it's like a big power boost. Your spell may have overloaded my 'Systems', but this spell forces them open again, while at the same time boosting my speed, strength and even the rest of my spells. It's over for you."

Sparky clenched his teeth in anger and frustration. He wasn't about to let himself be beaten. He threw his arm forward toward the experiment. "Valdez, cast a spe…"

Before Sparky could even finish his sentence, the light around Stitch vanished and so did he. Sparky barely had time to blink before Stitch appeared in front of him. "It's over." smirked Stitch before driving his fist into the yellow experiments gut.

Sparky shot backward past his partner and slammed into the staircase with terrible force. The sound startled everyone in the room; it even stopped Snooty in mid flight, as he looked toward his blue friend in utter amazement. But he wasn't the only one who was amazed. On the other end of a camera hidden in a corner of the ceiling, two figures stared with great amusement. One of the figures was that of Mr.Vandercamp, the other, remained in the shadows. Vandercamp was looking upon the screen impressed at Stitch's new spell.

"He's just full of surprises isn't he?" smiled Vandercamp.

The shadowy figure broke a toothy grin as it raised and arm and dragged a long claw across the screen like it was some delicate picture. "I think it's time I go introduce myself, don't you agree?"

"Indeed I do." responded Vandercamp in an obedient tone like that of a servant. "May I ask you a question though?"

"What is it?"

"Are you sure Cobra will be able to handle that boy?"

Another sinister grin appeared on the figures face. "Oh most definitely, now lets go." snapped the figure as it hopped out of the large chair and began walking toward the door, closely followed by Vandercamp.

Back down in the main hall the dust was beginning to settle, revealing Sparky, who was having a hard time prying himself from the rubble. He finally worked himself loose and hobbled over to his partner's side. His teeth were bared in anger, the fight was no longer a game to him, and he was going to defeat Stitch, despite what his orders had been.

"I'm through messing around, 6-2-6. I swear I'm going to beat you." Growled Sparky furiously as sparks wrapped around his arms and fists.

Arrogantly Stitch stood up straight and folded his arms across his chest. "I'd like to see you try," Stitch continued to taunt the experiment by turning his back to him. "I'm waiting."

Lilo was growing concerned as she watched her friends display, the spell was beginning to take its affects on her as her breathing became harder and harder. She knew it wasn't going to be much longer until the spell wore off. Stitch just had to finish off this fight. Suddenly, Sparky could no longer control himself and charged off toward Stitch without a spell. Both Lilo and Valdez were taken back by this act of foolish daring. Sparky's animalistic yell gave away his distance to Stitch. The furious experiment reached his target and threw a punch as hard as he could, but Stitch was ready and cocked his head away from the fist. In the same instant Stitch drove his elbow into Sparky's gut, knocking the wind out of him. Stitch then whipped around and drove his foot into Sparky's chin, knocking him into the air but just as he was about to soar across the room, Stitch caught his foot and began spinning him around. After a few rotations Stitch released his grip, Sparky crashed into a pillar along the wall and remained imbedded in it.

Sparky's rage fell silent as it became apparent that he was barely conscious. After a moment, Sparky became unstuck from the wall and fell back toward the ground. But Stitch's fist intercepted him before he could hit and he was knocked, once again, back toward Valdez. Deep down Lilo was disgusted by the man's lack of concern for the experiment; even as Sparky was rammed into the floor he barely batted an eye. Sparky was now laying unconscious on the ground; battered and bruised he seemed almost dead. And yet Valdez merely looked back at him with a cold look of judgment, as if the experiments beaten condition was a disappointment.

"How can you care so little about him," shouted Lilo through strained breathe and angry tone. "You're his partner, you should care about him!" Stitch now looked back at the girl with a sort of surprise.

Valdez, however, just looked at her with an amused smirk. "Why should I care, I see no reason why I should," Laughed the man, making Lilo cringe with anger. "These creatures deserve no sentiment from us, they are here to fight, but they don't just fight on their own, they have to use us. Can you really get attached to a creature that is using you more or less like a fuel source for their power?" Lilo didn't know what to say.

At the same time, Victoria and Chizo's fight was still one sided. Snooty couldn't land a single hit on Tori, of course the phoenix wasn't giving many opportunities to counterattack. Her spells were fierce and relentless and Snooty was beginning to grow exhausted, none of his spells seemed to faze her and he was growing desperate. Victoria was also growing desperate to find away to defeat the experiment. All of their spells were either too weak or too inaccurate to be effective. There was no over coming the strength problem, but she could try and find away to get Snooty in close, perhaps a spell at point blank range would have some effect?

Suddenly, as Tori launched a fireball, a plan took shape in the young girls head. She saw how wide the bird-like experiment had to open its beak to launch the attack and how much of its vision was blocked by the spell, it was a blind spot! She could use the experiment's own spell against it. Just then there was a lull in the fight as Tori landed on a ledge of one of the pillars, probably to take a quick breather, but Victoria took the opportunity to tell her partner the plan. She called Snooty over and he landed on the top of a chair next to her, panting heavily.

"Are you ok, Snooty?" asked Victoria concerned about her friend.

It took a moment for the Bat to catch enough breath to speak. "I don't think I can fight much longer, she's worn me out, and the heat from her spells is making it hard to breathe."

"Well don't worry, this fight won't last much longer. I have a plan." smirked the girl as she looked at Tori from the corner of her eye.

"What did you have in mind?" asked Snooty curiously.

"Ok, here it is. Get her to attack with one of those fireballs again; when she launches it it impairs her vision. Use that to get around behind her; from there we'll use the 'Raja Gatsu' spell on her. But you have to be as close as possible. Got it?"

The bat looked at his partner like she was crazy but gave an understanding nod. Victoria smiled back at him and gave him a quick scratch on the head. Just then, Tori's sharp, squawking laugh broke through to the both of them. "If you're planning something, you should know it's useless. Just give up already."

Without a word Snooty took to the air again, his achy wings carrying him up as fast as he could. Tori soon followed, coming to a stop a few yards in front of him. "I think it's time we show them another one of our tricks, don't you think so Tori?" grinned Chizo as he found the page he wanted.

To Tori's surprise, snooty cracked a smirk. "You better make it count, cause you're not going to get another shot."

"Your confidence is almost disgusting." replied Tori as her book lit up in her partner's hands.

Snooty suddenly flew straight for Tori, going a fast as he could. A wicked smile formed on Chizo's face as he read off the spell. "Kenzo-Fuerga!"

The feathers on Tori's wings began to glow as she spread them out wide. Then, in a flash, Tori swept her wings inward, sending a storm of burning, crescent shaped blades flying toward Snooty. The speed of the attack took the bat by surprise and gave him very little time to react. Fortunately, he managed to fly out of the way, and in a second he was coming at Tori from the side. The phoenix's spell faded and she quickly turned to face her incoming attacker.

'What does he think he's doing? Coming at me head on, is he really that exhausted?' thought Tori confused. Without turning her head away from Snooty she yelled down to Chizo. "Lets knock him out of the air!"

"Got it!" replied Chizo as he flipped back to previous page.

Snooty couldn't help but smirk as he over heard the birds command; they were falling for Victoria's plan. But he had to get closer before she cast the spell in order for it all to work. Tori's book lit up as Chizo summoned her basic spell, Fuerga. Tori opened her beak and launched the fireball, Snooty could instantly feel the intense heat, it burnt his fur and skin but he had to wait for the right moment. That moment came within seconds, when the fireball was just a few feet away Snooty dove underneath it. While Tori didn't see it, her partner saw right through the bat's plan.

"Fool, look out behind you!" screamed Chizo angrily.

"What?" gasped Tori as she looked over her shoulder and saw Snooty appear behind her.

"Got ya," grinned Victoria as she poured her feelings into the book. "Raja-Gatsu!"

Tori's eyes widened with fear as the bat opened his mouth wide and the swirling mass of green wind-like energy swirled in front of her. Suddenly, the energy was released and Tori was blasted by the spell at near point blank range. The swirling mass carried her downward until it slammed into the base of one of the room's columns with tremendous force. The glow of the spell disappeared behind the growing cloud of dust and debris. Suddenly, a groaning, rumbling sound filled the air and then a large section of the wall and ceiling crumbled to the ground. The floor shook as massive chunks of steel and stone crashed down onto the spot where Tori had landed.

Everyone in the room looked on in shock as the dust cleared and revealed a gaping hole in the wall and a giant pile of debris beneath it. Victoria started to feel frightened; she worried that she might have just killed the experiment. She looked toward Chizo, expecting to see a terrified look on his face, but she saw nothing close to it. Instead the man seemed almost annoyed, close to losing his patience and ready to erupt with frustration and anger.

"Fool, how could you let him get behind you like that!" yelled Chizo angrily.

"How can you just stand there and critique her, aren't you worried at all?" yelled Victoria with the same tone of anger.

"We told you already," snapped Chizo. "There is no reason or us to care at all about these creatures."

"Getting attached to them would only serve to slow down our fighting capabilities, and when the time came for us to part we'd have the nuisance of feeling sad." blurted Valdez coldly.

Stitch just shook his head in disgust as he glared at the man. "Thinking like that, you'll never know the power that comes from those bonds." growled Stitch. Suddenly, the light outlining the experiment disappeared and so did Stitch's strength. The experiment collapsed to his hands and knees for a moment before falling flat on his chest.

At the same time Lilo fell to her knees, a massive amount of her own strength gone with Stitch's. This was the one reason why she hated using the spell. Humans were never meant to have so much energy taken from them at once, it literally felt like she was dieing. "Lilo, Stitch, are you alright?" shouted Victoria concernedly.

"We're fine, just a little worn out." said Lilo weakly.

Valdez began to laugh, amused by the site. "You talk about power, and yet here you are on your knees and barely able to talk. If that is the power one gains from close bonds, I'll gladly keep things the way they are."

"Don't… talk like… you're all powerful either," groaned Stitch as he lifted his head. "Your partner there didn't last too long. You obviously aren't as strong as you think." smirked Stitch confidently.

A toothy grin crossed Valdez's face, Chizo did the same. "Is that so," Both Valdez and Chizo held their books out to their sides. The pages of the book began to shine brighter than normal, suddenly Lilo and Victoria noticed the same light coming from Sparky and from under the pile of rubble where Tori fell. Then, without warning, Sparky sat up, looking like he had just woken up from a long nap. At the same time a rumbling sound emanated from the pile of rubble and a moment later Tori erupted from the pile, also looking well rested. "It would appear to me like we have more strength then you thought."

The girls and their experiments were all in shock. It was if Sparky and Tori hadn't fought at all. "You look surprised," laughed Chizo. "Didn't you know that you could do more with your energy than just cast spells? I take it that you don't, seeing as how you haven't done it yet."

"What are you talking about?" asked Victoria.

"When you put energy into the spell book, the experiment instinctively taps into it and uses it to activate their powers. They do this with very little thought and so usually don't think to use it in another way." Valdez began to explain when Chizo broke in.

"If your experiment can over come that instinct to divert that energy straight into a spell, they can use it to heal and rejuvenate themselves." said Chizo with a smile.

"Do you really think it's smart telling us this in the middle of a fight?" blurted Victoria. "Now we could use that little trick for ourselves."

"I don't think we have to worry," replied Valdez, "it takes time for the experiment to learn how to divert that power, time you don't have. Besides, it doesn't look like Stitch has enough power left to divert."

In his weakened state all Stitch could do was growl, Lilo was trying to figure out a way to get out of this tricky situation, but nothing was coming to here. Sparky walked down from the rubble and back in front of Valdez, Tori fly over and hovered in front of Chizo. Their human partners flipped to pages in their books, the pages immediately lit up. Both Lilo and Victoria gasped in fear as the two enemy experiments aimed straight at them.

"I don't care what Vandercamps plans for you were. I'm going to be the one to defeat you!" shouted Sparky viciously.

"I feel the same way!" agreed Chizo.

Sparks of electricity began to shot over Sparky's arm and a swirling ball of flame started to take shape in front of Tori. "Now, goodbye!" yelled Sparky and Chizo in unison.

"Haruk."

Suddenly, two crimson red beams shot down form the top of the stairs and knocked the spell books from Chizo and Valdez's hands, incinerating them almost instantly. Sparky and Tori barely knew what had happened before they vanished into thin air. Their partners were knocked to the ground by the force of the spell and appeared frightened. Lilo, Victoria, Stitch and Snooty all were taken off guard by the sudden attack. They all looked up at the top of the stairs to see no other than Vandercamp, holding a blood red book. It was then that their eyes fell upon the experiment standing next to him, paws smoldering from its attack.

Lilo gave a small gasp as she saw that the experiment resembled Stitch in body and face, but it's head was coned shape and it's fur was an orange-red with black claws on it's paws. It was clear to Lilo that this experiment was trouble.

"Boss," blurted Valdez. His tone of confidence was gone replaced by shear terror, "Please sir, forgive us, we were getting a little too into the fight."

"Yes, please forgive us!" added Chizo, his sadistic tone replaced by fear as well.

Lilo at that point was expecting for Vandercamp to speak up, but instead his experiment spoke, it's voice was deep and merciless, like that of a demon. "I understand completely," said the Experiment, "however, your usefulness has come to an end."

The experiment raised its paws towards the two men. A wave of terror swept over each of their faces as they watched flashing orbs of red light form in front of the experiments paws. "No sir, please don't!" cried Valdez almost tearfully.

The experiment smirked as Vandercamp read off the spell. "Haruk."

The two girls and their experiments went wide-eyed and slack jawed as they watched the two men disappear into the red beams of light. Lilo and Victoria both had to look away as the men screamed before falling silent under a veil of dust and debris. Stitch and Snooty were both speechless, and any other experiment would have been as well. Never had they heard of an experiment using it's spells to kill, and the fact that this experiment had just done it with little more than a smile was almost unbelievable. It was a concept that neither of the experiments could even begin to conceive. The girls finally looked back, the clouds of dust lifted revealing craters where the men had once been, but not a single trace of them remained.

The experiment, still smiling at what it had just done finally looked up toward the four friends. He gazed back and fourth between them for a moment before settling his gaze on Stitch. "Well, 6-2-6 we finally meet face to face. I must say that from what I've seen you are just as good as Jumba said you were."

"Who are you," asked Stitch as he tried to push himself up, he was still very weak, "I don't remember ever seeing you before."

"That is because we've never met before. And how could we, you were on Earth already when I was created." grinned the experiment as it folded it's arms over it's chest.

All four of the friends gave shocked gasps, especially Lilo and Stitch. "But, Stitch was the newest experiment." blurted Lilo with a very confused look on her face.

The experiment laughed. "He was when the tournament began."

"Then why… why are you here? Jumba never puts experiments into the middle of tournaments." said Stitch as he continued to try and get up.

"I guess Jumba just couldn't wait to see me in action. Especially since his latest was proving to be a big disappointment," Stitch just looked at the floor with an astonished stare on his face, which the red experiment found so amusing, "That's right, while I personally find your skill impressive, our creator was under whelmed by your performance. He told me that he considered you a failure. Not to say it was entirely your fault, he was displeased with the powers he gave you as well, so he was also upset with himself. Your hand to hand based spells were not to his liking, but I think you use them quite well."

Stitch was still staring at the floor in disbelief, he felt… betrayed and humiliated. Being called a failure in front of Lilo and his friends was bad enough, but the fact that it was his creator, his father that called him a failure… was almost too much. He felt tears beginning to well up in his eyes, despite his efforts to hold them in. Lilo hated hearing her friend called a failure, and it just made her angrier that Stitch's creator had labeled him a failure. But for the moment she let her anger go and focused in on helping her friend. With a bit of difficulty, Lilo crawled over next to Stitch on her hands and knees.

"Stitch, don't listen to him, you're not a failure." Said Lilo softly as she reached toward him, trying to stroke his head.

But before she touched him he growled back at her. "Don't touch me!"

Lilo was shocked by her friend's aggressive tone and she withdrew her hand. "Stitch." she said softly.

"It's because of your failure that Jumba made me so hastily," continued the experiment, with no change to his cruel smile, "he wanted to fix the mistake he had made. And so he didn't make me in quite the same way. He didn't plan me out as delicately as he did you or any of the other experiments because unlike you all I am not made for fighting a tournament. No, my purpose is to defeat you, 6-2-6. The reason why he sent me in the middle of the fight was to bring you back, so he could correct his mistakes. He gave me spells from 20 different experiments, not to mention some of my own, like the one you just saw me use. He created me with the knowledge of the spell book and how to use spells, that way he could skip the training process. The way he prepared me, I was expecting more or less a monster, but no, you're practically a human females teddy bear."

"Shut up!" shouted Stitch angrily as he gave one big push to try and get himself up. "Don't underestimate me, I am not a failure! I don't care if you were made to defeat me or not, you will never beat me!" despite his struggling, Stitch was unable to lift himself and he fell back to the ground exhausted.

The experiment just shook his head in disapproval. "Never beat you? In your state beating you wouldn't even require a spell. That is why I haven't attacked you yet."

"What are you talking about?" asked Lilo, her anger leaking out slightly.

"I could very easily complete my mission right now. But that would be no fun. After all, who knows if I'll ever set foot outside the lab ever again after this. Jumba may just disassemble me, so why should I rush. I want to take my time, I want to fight Stitch at full power so I will give you and him time to recover your strength." explained the experiment.

"You really think we'll just let our enemy stand there?" blurted Victoria; "you won't lay a hand on our friends. We'll be the ones to fight you!"

The experiment looked over at Victoria and Snooty as if he had forgotten they were there. "You two are weakened as well, you would be no match for me. If you wish to fight along side Lilo and Stitch then fine but you will wait with the rest of us."

Just then a light glow began to shine through the shattered windows, creeping across the floor and over the experiments and their partners. Night had passed and the sun was beginning to rise, the sky began to turn shades of red and pink and the buildings became outlined like mountains. The red experiment looked out the window and then back at Lilo and Stitch.

"Our fight will begin when the sun comes completely over the outer wall. Which gives you about three hours to rest, I suggest you use that time wisely. And until then, we will not touch our spell books, agreed?" asked the experiment as Vandercamp slipped the red book back into his coat.

Lilo and Victoria looked at each other and nodded, they both placed their books down on the ground. "I'm curious," blurted Lilo suddenly, "if Jumba made you so quick, what did he come up with for your name?"

The experiment said nothing and sat down on the edge of the stairs. "I don't have a name," he said finally, "just call me 6-2-7."

**Finally, I have completed this chapter! I'm not doing a very good job with the 1 chapter per weekend plan. But I'll try to work on that. Anyway, it was mainly the Holidays and the aftermath of the Holidays that slowed this chapter down. But now that's out of the way, so more chapters are coming, and quicker I hope. Well Please review.**


	9. Devotion

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 9: Devotion

Sunlight nearly filled the entire room now, three hours had passed by and the girls and their experiments had regained their strength. Stitch was now on his feet, glaring up at 6-2-7 with an angry look upon his face. 6-2-7 merely smirked down at him before getting up to his feet. Lilo and Victoria both got to their feet and picked up their spell books. The room couldn't have been more silent; it was if the whole world was standing still. A warm breeze rushed through the open windows and broke the silence.

"I suppose I don't need to ask if you are ready to begin." blurted 6-2-7 as Vandercamp retrieved their book from his coat.

"If you wanna fight, then fight, don't talk." barked Stitch impatiently.

"Now you shouldn't expect me to just jump into battle, Stitch. After all, it is two against one."

"No, it's not two against one," blurted Lilo, "there is a third."

6-2-7 seemed to take an interest in this fact and raised an eyebrow curiously. "Oh, and just who would that be?"

"The most powerful people we know, that's who!" smiled Lilo confidently.

Vandercamp gave a small chuckle. "You wouldn't be referring to 6-2-4 and her partner would you? Because if you are then I'm afraid they won't be showing up." said the man with a smile. "You see, slightly before my ball ended some of our agents captured her in her room and took her down to the deepest part of the ship and her foolish partner went after her. Their survival is slim to none. Even if he makes it down there and frees her, our strongest agent will stop them."

Despite this news Lilo never lost confidence in Kioko and Angel. It was shocking that an experiment as strong as Angel could be captured but if Kioko managed to get to her she couldn't see anything stopping them.

"I think you are underestimating them." said Lilo confidently.

"Oh believe me, I'm not. I know full well how strong 6-2-4 is, she posed a great threat to my mission. Fighting her and 6-2-6 would be far too difficult, so I had to separate them. And though it would be fun to fight her, she is not my target, so it makes no difference to me if I beat her or not. You, 6-2-6, are the only one I need concern myself with. And I am the only one you should worry about, 6-2-4 and her partner will fall, trust me."

Meanwhile, down in the bowels of the ship Kioko had managed to save Angel from her bindings and had propped her up gently against the wall. Her breathing was faint and she could barely hold her eyes open. Tears were building up in Kioko's eyes as he looked his partner over for wounds, but he found none. His heart was a flurry of emotion as he ran his hand gently over her head. He was so glad to have saved her and yet he was terrified by the condition she was in. He had no idea what could have worn her out so badly.

"It's… about time… you got here." said Angel, so weakly that it was barely a whisper.

"Please, don't talk, you have to save your energy." said Kioko concernedly.

Angel just smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be fine. The metal… that those chains are made of absorb energy. Jumba… uses them to keep unruly experiments under control. My strength should… return shortly."

Kioko instantly felt relieved by this. At least he knew she would get better, but he quickly remembered just where they were. With all the hostile guards around there wasn't much time to sit and rest. "Where'd they put the book? If we had it I could get you feeling better a lot quicker."

"I'm not sure, they took it away when they chained me up." said Angel, her voice already getting stronger.

"Is this what you are looking for?" asked a deep voice from behind Kioko.

The boy quickly turned around to see the man he had seen at the ball standing in front of the large doors of the room, in his hand was the black book. A wave of panic rushed through Kioko's heart as he got to his feet; he never trusted anyone but himself when it came to holding the spell book and now the enemy had it, he couldn't think of a worse nightmare.

"Hand over the book now!" shouted Kioko, trying to sound as intimidating as possible. But just as he had expected, the man didn't even blink.

"I don't think you should be ordering people around, Boy," said the man as he reached into his coat pocket and produced a small lighter. He placed it just underneath a corner of the book and prepared to ignite it, "You are hardly in a position to be making demands."

A fear like none he had ever felt covered Kioko. Everything he cared about was just a moment away from destruction. In that moment he felt trapped, he could find no way out, there was nothing he could do to prevent the flames from consuming the book and his precious Angel from being taken away. He could see it clear as day, her smiling face disappearing forever, leaving him alone once again. Cobra could see the boys terrified expression and in a cruel trick he flicked the igniter of the lighter. The boy's heart stopped as he saw the sparks leap forth toward the book, but no gas was released and so no flames appeared. The book was safe for the moment but the damage had been done to Kioko. The boy seemed to fall into a trance with nothing but fear in his expression and he trembled uncontrollably.

Cobra found the sight all too amusing, such a strong willed boy who single handedly fought through countless armed guards without any hesitation, could crumble so easily into a helpless, quivering child. Cobra felt confident now that he had the boy right where he wanted him, he was no longer a threat.

"You see now the hopelessness of your situation. Everything you've done to get here is meaningless," said Cobra in a cold voice. He put the lighter back in his pocket and then began to put the book back in his coat, "I'm not sure what to do with you, hand you over to the guards or kill you myself, which would you prefer?"

Suddenly, as Cobra was placing the book back in his coat, the sound of running feet caught his ear. He looked back toward where Kioko was, but just as he looked back Kioko's fist slammed into his cheek. Without completely realizing it Kioko had overcome his fear and changed it to anger, which he used to drive his knuckles into the man's cheek as hard as he could. Cobra was caught off guard and stumbled backward; he still held the spell book in his hand as he tried to recover. Kioko took the opportunity and reached for the book, but just before he could lay even a finger on it he felt Cobras knee being driven into his gut. The large man recovered his footing while Kioko fell to his knees in pain, gasping for the breath that had been knocked out of him.

"Little punk!" shouted Cobra as he glared down at the boy. He then cocked his leg back and kicked Kioko straight in the chin, knocking him back a good distance. "I told you it was hopeless!" he said as he wiped away a little blood from his mouth.

Despite the immense pain in his body Kioko began to sit up and slowly he got back to his feet. Hunched over and holding his gut with one hand he still managed to look Cobra right in the eye. "It's never hopeless. I'm saving her and there is nothing you can do to stop me. But if you insist on getting in my way… I'll have to kill you."

Kioko now stood straight up, standing eye level with Cobra. Meanwhile, Angel looked on nervously as her partner made his daring stand. She could sense that Cobra was much stronger than Kioko was and this made her worry. She knew he was a good fighter, but there was something about Cobra that made her feel uneasy.

"Do you really think that you can beat me without your experiments help?" asked Cobra mockingly. "You don't stand a chance against me. I'm Mr. Vandercamp's top agent, Cobra."

"His top agent huh, how special. That'll just make it even more impressive when I beat you!" said Kioko with a smile before charging toward Cobra.

The boy cocked his fist back and threw it at his opponent, but Cobra sidestepped the attack easily. Before Kioko sailed by he planted his foot on the ground and leapt into the air, swinging one leg right at the large mans head. Cobra easily blocked the kick, blocking it with his forearm. He then countered, grabbing onto Kioko's leg and swung him around and around before throwing him toward the wall. The impact knocked the wind out of the boy before he fell to the floor. Angel even winced at the sound of the impact. But unlike the last time, Kioko didn't stay down long; he got back on his feet and took after Cobra once again. This time he let fly a fury of kicks, all of which were dodged or blocked by Cobra. He then countered the boy's kicks with a few punches of his own, all hit or were blocked. But even the ones blocked knocked Kioko around; the mans strength was incredible and none of his own strikes even seemed to phase him.

Kioko then tried a rather daring move. He twisted his body, planted his left hand on the ground and brought one swift kick up to Cobras head. But once again the attack failed and Cobra countered, driving the toe of his shoe a few inches into Kioko's gut. The young boy gasped for breath as he slid across the floor. Cobra had an un-amused look upon his face as he watched the boy cough up some blood onto the floor and then stand slowly back up.

"You sure are stubborn," said the man sounding slightly irritated, "that quality will be the death of you."

Still holding his gut in pain and with trails of blood running out of the corners of his mouth Kioko still managed to crack a wise-ass smirk. "I think you're wrong about that. My stubbornness has always worked for me in the past."

"Today it will fail you." responded Cobra coldly.

The large man began to walk toward Kioko, cracking his knuckles in his hands. But suddenly Kioko turned and bolted to the right, running behind some of the large machines that filled the room. Cobra just puffed and slowly followed. "Are you trying to hide now, you coward?"

As the man walked beyond the machines a whole new world seemed to appear. It was no longer the cavernous space that they had just occupied, but it was now dark and cramped like a cave. Wires stretched from machine to machine like vines and canopies of pipes, narrow walkways, and girders criss-crossed overhead. Cobra's eyes darted left and right, searching for Kioko, all was quiet, too quiet. Suddenly, Kioko swung down from one of the girders and caught Cobra off guard. The boy drove the heels of his feet into the man's face, knocking him backward with a painful grunt. Kioko instantly saw the opportunity and went for it. He dropped down and charged the large man; leaping into the air he kicked the man across the face, knocking him even more off balance. Moving to finish his attack Kioko went low and swept Cobra's legs out from under him. As the man fell Kioko went into a handstand and brought the toe of his foot ramming into the man's chest.

But as his foot hit. He felt the hard cover of the spell book beneath his foot; he suddenly remembered what his main goal was, get that book away from him. Kioko quickly righted himself and quickly reached for the stunned mans inside coat pocket. But Cobra was not as stunned as the boy thought and before he could lay a finger on the book the man grabbed his wrist. Like a child playing with a rag doll Cobra flipped Kioko over onto the hard metal floor. The man got back on his feet, still holding tightly to Kioko's wrist. With an animalistic growl the man swung the boy by the wrist and slammed him into one of the machines and then flung him down the narrow corridor. As soon as Kioko had rolled to a stop, Cobra picked him up and wrapped his large arm around the boy's neck.

"You really are out of your league, Boy," growled Cobra angrily as he began to strangle the boy. "You won't be getting out of here alive."

Unfortunately, the two men had stopped in an opening in the machines, in plain view of Angel. The female experiment gave a terrified gasp as she watched her partner gasp for breath, his face slowly changing color. A sudden rush of adrenaline struck her and commanded her to get up and help. In a sudden outburst of strength she managed to push herself to her feet and away from the wall. But she quickly fell back down onto her hands and knees. 'Damn it, damn it! I still don't have enough energy,' thought Angel angrily as she clenched her teeth in frustration. 'I need to help him, I need to! But my body is still too numb. Damn it, move, move!'

Despite her desire she still could barley raise her head. She saw that Kioko was still in Cobras deadly grip and she could tell just as well as him that his strength was fading. Kioko already couldn't breathe, his stubbornness and his desire to save his Angel were the only things keeping him conscious. 'This can't be happening," thought Kioko as the feeling disappeared from his legs. 'I can't die now! I can't afford to die now.' Kioko looked toward where Angel was, though his vision was becoming blurry he could still make out her pink form. 'I can't let her down. I made her a promise,' like a slideshow all of his memories of him and Angel came rushing back, the good, the bad, all of them. He could not think of anything but her smiling face, and suddenly there in his mind was Michelle's face smiling just the same as Angel. 'I made a mistake, I let you down and you were lost forever.'

His vision was now growing dark and the sensations in his body were almost gone. 'Up until now there was no way for me to make it up to you. But now, I have her in my life and through her… by protecting her with all my strength and by not failing her… I shall make it up to you… I swear it!'

Kioko was mere seconds away from no return, his strength was gone, he was helpless. But by some twist of fate, Cobra released his grip and precious air rushed into the boys lungs, saving him from death for the moment. But Cobra, unaware of what was going on continued his attack, picking Kioko up by the face with one hand and ramming his head into the floor. He repeated this a few times before kicking Kioko across the floor. Tears welled up furiously in Angel's eyes, her partner's body seemed lifeless and a terror she had never felt before filled her. With rivers of tears streaking her cheeks she finally found the strength enough to get to her feet and run shakily toward her fallen partner.

"Kioko!" she cried as she stumbled toward him. But before she could reach him she was knocked back to where she had been by a kick from Cobra.

"I wouldn't bother trying to call his name, he's as good as gone." said Cobra coldly, kicking Kioko in the back again.

"He won't die that easily you bastard," said Angel as she slowly sat up. Unfortunately she had regained enough feeling to know that the man's kick really hurt. "He's stronger than you think. It'd be smart not to underestimate him."

"Underestimate him?" laughed Cobra, "I overestimated him. I thought he would be a harder challenge than this. He disappointed me; it would appear that you were stuck with a worthless human. Though I suppose it is fitting for an experiment such as you."

Angel let out a toothy growl as she made her way back onto her knees. "What the hell is that supposed to mean? You know nothing about me!"

Cobra let out a small chuckle. "6-2-7 told me all I needed to know about you."

"You must be crazy, there is no 6-2-7. 6-2-6, Stitch, was the last experiment Jumba created before this tournament. There could be no newer experiments in this battle."

"You right about Stitch being the last experiment made before this tournament. However, Jumba, it would appear was not pleased with his design. And thus made an experiment for a single purpose. To retrieve 6-2-6. I guess your creator had no plan for recalling an experiment other than the burning of their book, so it was necessary to send some one to burn Stitch's book and quickly." explained Cobra casually.

"Jumba was never the most patient one around." added Angel.

Cobra just smiled. "6-2-7 didn't want anything slowing him down. He wanted to get his job done quickly. He saw that you had become rather close to Stitch and his partner, he saw that you had become strong enough to be a nuisance, so he ordered your capture. He assured us that despite your strength you were still the pathetic little experiment that you have always been. Tell me, how does it feel to lose five times?"

Angel's blood was boiling, her teeth were clenched so tight that her jaw was beginning to hurt and her fists cracked from the strain. She pictured herself leaping up and clawing the man's face off, but still her body remained too weak to fight. "I will not lose this time!" snarled Angel, "Kioko and I will win it all, no one is going to stop us!"

"You really are foolish aren't you?" Cobra reached down and grabbed Kioko by the collar and lifted him into the air, the boy's body still limp, "Are you telling me that he is going to help you win? This boy couldn't even save you, you stupid little experiment!"

Suddenly, Kioko's arm shot up and into Cobra's coat, grabbing hold of the black book. The large man gasped in shock just as Kioko opened his eyes and stared back in triumph. The length of their conversation allowed enough time for the boy to regain his consciousness and some of his strength. But he still wasn't in good condition, he barely noticed Cobra tossing him away and kicking him in the gut. He felt the dull thud of himself hitting the floor and the feeling of friction beneath him as he slid a few yards away, but he felt no pain. The only thing he felt was the book slipping a few inches from his hand on impact, it was just out of reach.

Angel's ears shot up with the surprise and a sudden burst of hope overwhelmed her. She cried her partners name again with joy, this time she knew he heard her, as he turned his head and looked back at her with a smile. Tears once again came to her eyes, but now they were tears of joy. Cobra was not as joyous about what had just happened, he looked at the boy furiously and with certain amazement, it was as though he had just sprung back to life.

"You are the one who is a fool, Cobra. I have saved her," Kioko reached his hand up above his head toward where the book had landed and began reaching for it. Cobra suddenly became very frantic and ran toward the boy, yelling angrily.

"I will never let you succeed, I will never let you win!"

"And we will win, we will always win!" smirked Kioko as he laid two fingertips upon the books cover.

The book erupted in it's dark light just as Cobra reached the boy and raised his leg, intending to crush the boys rib cage. "You bastard!" cried Cobra as he drove his foot downward. But before his foot got even close to its target a pair of fury pink paws stopped it in its tracks. The large man gasped as he felt his foot being driven back. "What the hell?"

In an instant Angel had regained every last bit of her strength, her tears of joy dried as she now found her enemy right where she wanted him. "I warned you not to underestimate us," growled Angel as she peered around the man's foot and glared into the man's eyes. A look of fear appeared on the man's face as the experiments eyes stabbed into him. "Now you will pay for what you have done. Just as Kioko cannot stand to see me injured, I cannot stand to see him injured. Especially by bastards such as you!"

With no difficulty Angel launched cobra into the air. In a flash she appeared in front of him, her fist cocked back and her teeth clenched with rage. Then, with a rebel yell, she threw her fist as hard as she could into the man's face. Sending him shooting across the room and smashing into one of the large machines in an explosion of smoke and steam. Angel landed on the ground panting and staring into the cloud. It quickly vanished and revealed Cobra lodged in the machine, a second later he fell to the ground, unconscious but not quite dead. A satisfied smile appeared on the females face as she turned back toward her partner, who was barely sitting up.

"Remind me… not to… piss you off." said Kioko weakly.

Angel just smiled and sat down next to him. "Don't speak, you need to save your strength." she said as she wiped away the blood that was running down his brow.

"I'll be fine, don't worry," laughed Kioko, "Come on, we need to get out of here. I'm sure Lilo and them could use some help."

Kioko began to push himself up but Angel put her paw on his chest and kept him down. "They'll be able to hold their own long enough. You need to be thinking about yourself. As beaten up as you are we wouldn't stand a chance of getting out of here."

"Beaten up? I wasn't beaten up, I just got a little roughed up."

"Uh huh, sure. Just rest a little while longer, would you please? There's no need to rush just yet."

Kioko just smiled and gave in to the experiments request, lowering his head onto her lap, which she offered up as a pillow. He smiled up at her as she smiled down on him. "I don't know what I would do without you, Angel."

"I don't know what you'd do without me neither, Kioko."

**Well that's the end of this chapter! Next chapter! The battle between 627, Stitch and Snooty begins! Can they defeat this great opponent? Find out next time on The Tejina Chronicles! Please review.**


	10. Two Against One

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 10: Two Against One

Day had completely broken now, its peaceful warmth hiding the tremendous fight that was about to shatter its silence. The two groups stared each other down, waiting for their opponent to make their first move. Stitch was growing more tense by the second and the fact that 6-2-7 had so much confidence wasn't helping. Lilo was also growing more tense, but for a different reason. Worries and doubts began to rush through her mind as she tried to come up with some plan of attack. Usually, two against one fights, favoring her, would be no problem. But this new experiment's power worried her, after all Tori and Sparky cowered before this creature. 

Suddenly, an idea came to her. It wasn't too complex, but she knew that this fight might come down to just raw power and the plan would call for just that. After thinking it through one last time she looked toward Victoria and waved to get her attention. 

"Victoria," the red head looked over at her friend, " We're not going to survive this if we don't have a strategy. We're going to have to keep this guy on his toes, wear him out. I want you and Snooty to keep attacking from the air while Stitch and I attack from the ground. He can't possibly keep up with both of us." explained Lilo.

Victoria nodded in acknowledgement. "You get all that Snooty? We can't let up for even a moment."

"I got it, Victoria!" replied Snooty.

"A plan, how interesting," smiled 6-2-7 with an amused look in his eyes, "I'm curious to see just how you intend to defeat me. Please try not to disappoint me, I don't handle disappointment well."

"Believe me, you won't be disappointed," said Lilo as she opened the blue book, which began to glow. Victoria did the same as Snooty rose up into the air. " Here we go! Fisten, Gikair!" The two girls shouted in unison.

Their experiments sprung into action in a heartbeat, launching their spells directly at the crimson experiment. But 6-2-7 did not flinch; Vandercamp did not even attempt to summon a defensive spell. Without even a change of expression 6-2-7 allowed the spells to strike him, causing him to vanish behind a curtain of dust and debris. But that was not all; Snooty changed position to get a clear shot and readied for the next spell. 

"I'll hit him again and then you go in close for the finisher!" shouted Victoria as she flipped a few pages. Lilo nodded in understanding and readied her next spell. "Raja-Gatsu!" cried Victoria.

The bat launched his powerful spell right into the cloud left from the previous attack and shook the building with another great explosion. At the same time Stitch charged toward the cloud, his fist engulfed in blue energy and his heart engulfed with anger. He leapt up the stairs in only a few bounds and then into the air above the cloud. His finely tuned senses zeroed in on the approximate location of his target and then, with all his might Stitch threw his punch. The dust parted as he went deeper and deeper, he felt himself getting closer to his target. But suddenly, his attack was halted by a red paw that laid waiting in the dust, dispersing his spell instantly as the fingers closed around his fist.

The dust cleared a moment later, revealing 6-2-7 completely unharmed by any of the attacks and grinning up at Stitch with a devilish little smile. "Is that all you two weaklings can do? What did I tell you about disappointing me?" said 6-2-7 as he placed his other paw right in front of Stitch's face. 

The little blue experiments eyes widened with fear as the experiments palm began to glow red. "Gigano-Koruk!" uttered Vandercamp casually. In a second Stitch was blasted toward the ceiling, consumed in a large orb of intense crimson energy. The orb crashed into the ceiling and vanished. A second later Stitch came crashing down to the floor along with a pile of debris. Lilo quickly ran over to him and cleared some of the debris off of him; he was conscious but had burns all over his body. 

"Stitch, are you alright?" shouted Lilo concernedly as she helped him up.

The experiment gave a painful nod. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"He took all those attacks so easily, he didn't even get scratched. This guy is strong." said Lilo as she looked up at 6-2-7 and Vandercamp.

"Gee, you think?" snapped Stitch surprising Lilo. "Just use the 'Punchito' spell and keep it up." ordered Stitch as he got to his feet and charged toward 6-2-7.

'Please don't do anything foolish, Stitch.' Thought Lilo as she summoned the spell.

"A frontal assault, how daring." said 6-2-7 as he watched the experiment charge toward him with his fist a flame. 

"Shut up!" yelled Stitch as he bound up the stairs toward his foe.

The angry experiment threw his punch with dead aim but 6-2-7 dodged it with little difficulty. Stitch continued to throw punch after punch, furiously trying to land a hit on the crimson experiment. But nothing he tried was effective, 6-2-7 just continued to dodge and taunt him, which didn't help Stitch's concentration at all. The two drifted all around the top of the stairs, 6-2-7 stepping back to avoid Stitch's blows and Stitch following closely. 

"Do you really think you're going to get anywhere if you keep attacking me so clumsily," mocked 6-2-7, "you have no form to your attack, you just swing away hoping to hit your target. How pathetic."

"Shut up!" shouted Stitch as he swung his fist around toward 6-2-7's head. But the evil experiment grabbed hold of his arm and went low, driving his elbow into Stitch's gut, just as Angel had done. But his attack was far stronger and sent Stitch tumbling over to the other side of the steps.

"Stitch!" yelled Lilo frightfully, losing her focus on the spell for a moment.

"Keep the spell going, Lilo!" replied Stitch after feeling the spell slipping. Lilo just clenched her teeth and kept the book lit. "You are the pathetic one, 6-2-7. You're too full of yourself and you leave your weak points wide open!" smirked Stitch as he got to his feet.

"What?" blurted 6-2-7 in surprise as he watched Stitch leap toward Vandercamp and 6-2-7's exposed spell book. 

For the first time a frightened look appeared on Vandercamp's face, as the blue experiment grew closer. The rich aristocrat did not even try to move the spell book away from the attack. A confident smile formed on Stitch's face, victory seemed inevitable in his mind. But victory was far from him, before he could get within striking range 6-2-7 appeared in front of him, his palm pointed right at Stitch's face. "It won't end that easily, you pathetic little experiment!" grinned 6-2-7 as Vandercamp read once again from the book.

"Gigano-Koruk!" cried Vandercamp.

Stitch was once again engulfed in the crimson sphere and crashed into the remains of the dining table at the bottom of the stairs. Victoria and Snooty both cringed at the impact, but at the same time Victoria noticed an opportunity for a slightly unorthodox attack that hopefully would give their teams time to regroup a little. "Snooty, I want you to aim for the ceiling above 6-2-7, we're going to fire three gikair's one right after the other and bring this place down on their heads. Got it?" smiled Victoria confidently. 

"I got it, Victoria!" replied Snooty as he lined himself up. 

The book began to glow and Victoria cried out the spells. "Gikair, Gikair Gikair!"

The three spheres of green energy shot toward the ceiling, catching 6-2-7's attention. The crimson experiment looked on with curiosity as the spells reached their target, crashing into the ceiling with explosive force. In seconds, 6-2-7 and his partner disappeared behind a cloud of dust and debris. The entire building began to shake as larger pieces of the roof came crashing down to the ground. Victoria, Lilo, snooty and even Stitch had to cover their faces as the massive room filled with a thick cloud of dust. After a few moments the rumbling subsided and the dust began to settle. Another moment later an amazing sight revealed itself to the two teams. The entire backend of the building had collapsed, leaving nothing but a giant mound of twisted steel and shattered concrete. 

"Wow, good going, Victoria." said Lilo in utter amazement.

"I guess we don't know our own strength, huh, Snooty?"

"Yeah." replied Snooty as he landed on the girls shoulder. 

"Do you think they could have survived that?" asked Lilo as she looked toward Stitch who was sitting on the ground staring at the rubble unimpressed. 

"6-2-7 certainly could have. But given that Vandercamp is only human… I'm not sure."

The room was now deafly silent, sunlight lit what was left of the building completely. A light haze of dust drifted along the floor of the room, swirling into small eddies and fading away. All four of the friends kept a carefully eye on the mountain of debris, looking for the slightest movement. Slowly, the group began to feel that it was over; nothing seemed to be moving. But just as they started to give a sigh of relief a massive slab of steel and concrete flew from the top of the mound straight toward Lilo. The young girl froze in place as she watched the jagged bars of steel coming right for her.

The building once again shook as the monstrous slab crashed into the floor, its massive weight punching a hole into the decks below. 

Lilo coughed, finding it hard to breath with the particles of dust entering her lungs. The weight that lay upon her chest didn't make it any easier. At first she thought it was a piece of the slab, but as she opened her eyes she found Stitch laying on top of her, breathing heavily and coughing the same as she.

"Why… did you… just stand there?" asked Stitch between coughs.

"What?" said Lilo a dazed expression on her face. But suddenly she realized what had happened. Stitch had jumped and knocked her out of the way at the last possible moment. Stitch crawled off of her and helped her get up onto her knees. A blank stare sat on her face as she looked at the massive hole in the floor. Her eyes widened as the realization of how close to death she had just come set in. Stitch could only look at her with sympathetic eyes.

"Well aren't you the little hero," came 6-2-7's voice from the top of the rubble. Everyone except Lilo, who was still dazed, looked toward the experiment. This time, at least, he had a few scraps on his body, "Another daring move, 6-2-6. Obviously, Jumba did not put a sense of fear within you." Stitch just growled in response. 6-2-7 then turned and faced Victoria and Snooty with a twisted little smirk on his face. "Collapsing the ceiling on me when conventional attacks failed, nice move. I think I'll give it a try myself." said 6-2-7 as Vandercamp climbed up next to him, spell book open and ready. 

"Hoiporuk!" shouted Vandercamp. 

6-2-7 closed his fist as if he were holding something and a moment later a long, whip like beam of energy formed in his paw. With a sinister grin the experiment swung his arm and sent the whip of energy stretching out until it sliced into the remaining walls of the building. The friends looked on in fear as the spell cut clean through the building.

"Run!" yelled Stitch as he grabbed hold of Lilo and turned to run. 

They didn't get far before the rest of the main hall collapsed into a cloud of dust. 6-2-7 looked on with a pleased expression as his spell faded away. He began to chuckle as the sea of dust slowly began to settle, revealing no sign of the four friends. Vandercamp, however, had a distressed look upon his face as he examined the damage. It was, after all, his ship and he didn't like seeing it torn to pieces. 

"Don't worry, Vandercamp. With your wealth you should have no problem rebuilding all of this." said 6-2-7 as if he had read the man's thoughts. "But perhaps next time you should build it a little more soundly; it crumbled awfully easy."

"I didn't design it for super powered alien fights! It was made to withstand weather and rough seas. I didn't expect it to be a battle field!" snapped Vandercamp.

"Silence," commanded 6-2-7 as his grin widened, "those fools survived. We are not done here yet."

Almost on cue a large chunk began to rumble and shift and a second later was flung aside. Underneath stood Stitch, breathing heavily from the strain of moving the massive piece of building. Lilo was on her knees next to him, her head was hung low with sweat running down her forehead. Across the pile of rubble, Victoria and Snooty crawled their way out from under a pile of debris, covered head to toe in dust, Victoria was also sweating. 

"Well it seems obvious to me that my spells alone won't do the trick," grinned 6-2-7.

"Throw as many spells as you want at us, it won't matter." growled Stitch as he glared up at the experiment. 

"Well perhaps one of these spells will make you feel differently," just then, 6-2-7's crimson book began to glow, not with it's usual red glow, but with a soft blue light. "One of the spells I borrowed from another experiment."

"Gigano Gorugan!" said Vandercamp.

6-2-7 raised his paw toward Stitch with a toothy grin. Suddenly, large bubbles began to appear around the evil experiment, drifting about ominously. Then, the bubbles began to drift toward 6-2-7, shrinking and condensing in front of his paw. They condensed faster and faster until finally they released. Stitch's eyes widened as a massive shark shaped blast of water and energy shot toward him. It's tail swishing from side to side like a shark swimming through the water. Before Stitch could even react the spell crashed into the ground with gaping jaws, disappearing into a cloud of dust as it swam deeper into the ground. The whole ship seemed to shake for a minute, forcing Victoria to grab onto to a piece of steel to keep herself up. 

6-2-7 began to laugh manically but stopped with a rather surprised expression as the smoke cleared and revealed Stitch and Lilo surrounded in their dome like shield. Stitch was still in shock as he slowly glanced around at the shield that Lilo had summoned at the last second. But suddenly, cracks raced across the shield and a moment later it shattered into thousands of pieces. 6-2-7 clenched his teeth in a furious growl as he glared at the Hawaiian girl. "Damn that girl!" snapped the evil experiment. 

"Lilo, are… are you all right?" asked Victoria as she watched her friend slowly stand up, her head still hung low.

She did not answer, but all of a sudden, the blue book erupted in a bright light and Lilo looked up at 6-2-7 with her own terrible glare. "6-2-7, I now know just how serious this battle is. And so I won't take it lightly any longer." said Lilo with a cold voice.

"Foolish girl, it took you this long to realize the seriousness of this fight? This is no game, if needed I won't just burn your book, I'll kill you."

"I know. But you won't get the chance to do either. This fight ends here." Lilo raised the spell book up in front of her and read, "Gigano-Punchito!"

Stitch's face emptied of expression and cocked his fist back. The blue energy engulfed his fist as always, suddenly, the familiar energy began pouring out with even greater intensity and speed. It shot fourth with such speed that it turned almost invisible. Stitch launched from his spot with even greater speed then before, catching 6-2-7 off guard as he suddenly appeared in front of him. The evil experiments eyes widened as Stitch's punch flew towards him with a piercing scream. Even 6-2-7 could not block the attack in time and Stitch's fist slammed into his cheek. 6-2-7 was sent rocketing through the air toward one of the neighboring buildings. Like a cannon ball, 6-2-7 smashed into the building, shattering the windows around him.

As smoke poured out of the gaping hole in the building, Victoria noticed a good chance to get her own attack in. She commanded Snooty to fly to the hole and ready himself to catch 6-2-7 off guard once again. The purple experiment did just as he was told. 6-2-7 emerged from the cloud of dust, rubbing his sore cheek, just as Snooty got into position. The evil experiment gave a startled gasp as he found himself staring straight into the swirling vortex of Snooty's "Raja-Gatsu".

The spell carved a hole into the building so large that it covered at least five floors. It had been one of the strongest attacks the little bat had used to date. It took so much out of him that he was left panting in mid air, but he still had enough in him to smile a proud smile.

"That a boy, Snooty!" shouted Victoria cheerfully. 

"That was impressive. To think so much power could be within such a tiny, innocent experiment." added Lilo, more or less speaking to herself.

Stitch did not say a word; he kept a sharp eye on the smoldering hole. He knew that it couldn't have ended so easily, and he was right. Without warning 6-2-7 flew out of the building straight toward Snooty. The little experiment gave a terrified gasp as the evil creature stopped right above him, with a terrible grin on his face. 

"You shouldn't let your guard down like that," said 6-2-7 in a bloodthirsty voice, "You might end up getting hurt." With that, the crimson experiment slammed his fist into the bat's face, sending him crashing back to Earth.

"Snooty!" cried Victoria as she watched her friend disappear into the ground. 

A moment later 6-2-7 landed back on the ground, his toothy grin dripping with malice. He paid no attention to his victim's partner as she ran over to the hole dug by Snooty's body, crying his name. "I don't understand why Jumba even puts such weaklings into this fight." blurted 6-2-7.

What filled Stitch's heart and soul could not be described as rage for it was far too weak a word. But what word is there that could describe it? To have been tricked into putting yourself at a disadvantage, to have found out that your own creator was ashamed of you, to have that fact rubbed in your face, and then to watch your friends suffer because of it… could one even make a word that portrayed ones feelings. All Stitch wanted was to destroy this new opponent, nothing else in the world mattered. He would make 6-2-7 suffer.

"Shut up, you bastard!" snapped Stitch with an animalistic growl. 

It delighted 6-2-7 to see his foe in such a temper; to him it meant that Stitch's fighting would be more vicious and thus more fun. Lilo was feeling a lot of the same emotions that Stitch was but she was far from as infuriated as he. She realized the opportunity they had; Vadercamp was just a few feet from Stitch, too close for 6-2-7 to stop an attack.

"Stitch," shouted Lilo, "Vandercamp is right behind you! Destroy the book while he's defenseless! We can end this now!"

To Lilo's dismay Stitch had no desire to end this fight quickly. Not now. Now he wanted to prove his worth and to get revenge for what had happened. He wanted to beat 6-2-7 to a bloody pulp. "No, Lilo! I want to make this guy regret ever being created!"

"But Stitch…"

"No 'buts'! I want to make him suffer! And if you won't help stay out of my way. I'll beat him without spells if I have to!" growled Stitch as he glared down at his partner.

For the first time ever, Lilo actually felt scared of the blue experiment. She sank her head into her shoulders and diverted her eyes. Stitch impatiently took this as his partner saying 'I won't help' and turned his focus back to 6-2-7.

"My, my what a temper you have. Lashing out at a female like that, it's so impolite."

At the same time, Victoria was knelt beside Snooty, her eyes and heart filled with fear. Her partner's breathing was slight and he had yet to open his eyes. 'Oh Snooty, please be all right,' thought the red head as she stroked his forehead, 'you were never meant to take a hit like that, your poor little body is too frail. You weren't meant to be a fighter.' Victoria suddenly felt a rush of anger flow through her, but it wasn't toward 6-2-7. It was toward the man who brought Snooty and all the experiments into existence, Jumba. 

"Damn him, damn him for putting such a gentle soul into this fight." said the girl as she tightened her grip on the spell book. "If I ever met him I would ring his neck! It's because of him that you have to suffer so." Like a torrent, rivers of tears suddenly burst from Victoria's eyes, running down her cheeks and dripping off her chin onto the dusty ground. "Damn him, damn him to hell."

Suddenly, a coughing sound caught the girl's attention. She quickly looked toward her friend to see him coughing up some blood. Her heart sank once again, but to her relief, the moment his coughing stopped his breathing returned to normal and his eyes slowly opened. A joyous smile found its way onto Victoria's face as the sparkling black pearls looked toward her, accompanied by their own smile. Her tears once again rushed down her face. 

Things certainly weren't quiet down in the bowls of the ship, as two armed guards were sent flying into walls, a third one following as a pink paw smashed into his cheek. Angel was left standing in the middle of a hall way, dozens of guards laying knocked out around her. "Human security is so weak, training was harder than this." said the female experiment as she brushed off her shoulders casually. 

"You really like to show off, don't you?" asked Kioko mockingly as he limped his way down the hall. 

Angel looked over her shoulder at him with a little smirk. "It's not my fault I'm so good."

"You shouldn't be so full of yourself." said Kioko before collapsing against the wall.

"Kioko!" shouted Angel as she rushed over to her partner, who barely managed to keep himself up. "I told you we should have waited longer to move. You're too injured to be up and moving like this." 

Kioko just had to smile, as her tone seemed so motherly. "Nonsense, I'm not that injured. I'm just still a little dizzy, that's all. I'll be fine in a few minutes." said Kioko before pushing off the wall and continuing down the hall.

"Now who is full of themselves? I'm telling you, we should stop and rest! If you're worried about Stitch and them relax. They can hold their own."

"I'm not worried about them. I know that they can fight for themselves," said Kioko as he stopped mid stride, " I know that they can beat 6-2-7. However, I want to be the one to destroy him. I want to make him pay for taking you from me, I want us to be the ones to deliver the final blow."

"Revenge does not look good on you, Kioko." said Angel with disgust in her voice. 

"It's the only thing that fits, when someone tries to take away from you what is most precious. To keep them from ever doing it again you must make them regret ever doing it in the first place."

"If I'm so precious to you, you should be happy enough with having me back," Angels ears fell over her shoulders and her voice calmed, "Only those who are selfish and see those closest to them as possessions seek revenge. Is that how you see me, am I just a possession of yours?"

"You know that's not how I see you."

"How can I believe that? You just said that you wanted revenge. How do I know you're not lying?"

"I'm not lying! I do not see you as a possession."

"If that's true, why do you not look at me when you say it? If you mean it, then turn around and look at me!"

Kioko did not just turn around; he whipped around with passion in his eyes and voice. "I shouldn't need to look at you! After all the time we've been together, after all we've been through! I risked my life to rescue you, if I thought of you as a possession; I would not have done such a thing. No one would risk their own existence for a possession. I nearly died for you, that should prove it!"

"It proves nothing to me." said Angel coldly. 

"What?" asked Kioko with astonishment. 

"People on this planet have died for mere minerals and metals. Aren't gold and silver considered possessions? So you risking your life doesn't mean that you see me as anything else but something you own."

Kioko raised his hand to say something but he changed his mind mid breath and lowered his hand. The boy began to take long, deep breathes as he held his forehead, trying to calm himself down. After a few moments he managed to regain his composure and gave one last sigh.

"So then what," began Kioko, his voice calmer now, "what am I supposed to do to prove it to you that I don't see you as a possession? Please, tell me."

Angel was silent for a moment. "Just promise me that you won't be one of those people that strive for revenge. That's all I ask." she said as she looked down toward the floor timidly.

The female experiment suddenly gave a yelp as she felt two hands grasp onto her shoulders. She looked up to see Kioko kneeling in front of her, his hands gently massaging her shoulders as he starred into her eyes. "Angel, you are the most precious thing in my life. If it weren't for you I'd be miserable beyond belief. I owe you immensely, and so, if you don't want me fighting only for revenge… I won't."

In a flash, a warm smile found its way across Angel's face. Kioko smiled back and then stood up and turned around. "Now I suggest we get moving, we don't want Stitch and them to hog all the fun." said Kioko as he smirked over his shoulder back at Angel. The pink experiment gave a nod and quickly followed. 

**Well that's the end of this chapter. Sorry for the wait, but my grandparents have been taking a drastic turn for the worse lately. So I've been spending time running around. Plus I've been playing Smash Bros. Brawl. But I promise I'll have the next up quicker. Please review.**


	11. ChainLink

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 11: Chain-link

As the battle between 6-2-7, Stitch and Snooty raged overhead, Angel and Kioko made their way through the winding corridors of the ship. Wave after wave of guards attempted to stop the duo, but they barely managed to slow them down. Kioko's injuries were the only thing really limiting their progress, as they would occasionally need to stop and rest. But as time past he began to regain his strength and breaks became less frequent. They had managed to make it up five decks in under an hour.

They were now about mid way through the ship, they could clearly feel the action going on above them. "It feels like their going all out up there." blurted Angel as the floor shook beneath her feet.

"Yeah, it sounds fun." smirked Kioko after another small tremor.

"So, where do you think we are now?" asked Angel as she looked around.

They had walked into a long stretch of hallway, lined on each side by thick glass doors. As they walked past the first door Kioko peaked in and looked around. There was nothing but a small sink, toilet and a few cots. "It looks like the brig or something." He said as he pulled away from the door.

"Looks cozy." joked Angel as she peaked into another cell.

They continued walking down the long hallway until a sudden, muffled noise caught Angel's ear. Kioko looked on curiously as he watched his friends large ear twitch and jump in all directions. Before he could even ask her what it was she heard, the little female ran off toward the end of the hall and stopped in front of a cell.

"Kioko, come here quick!" called Angel as she motioned with her paw.

"What is it?" asked Kioko as he ran down to her.

"I think we discovered what happened to the human partners of those experiments."

"What?"

Kioko looked into the cell and almost instantly his jaw dropped. There, inside the cell, dozens of people were crammed together like sardines. All of them had absent-minded looks on their faces, and were unresponsive to either Kioko or Angel pounding on the door. "What's wrong with them?" asked Angel.

"It looks like they've all been heavily sedated."

"Sedated? Should we help them? It wouldn't seem right to keep them in there."

"We're already being slowed down enough by my condition. Helping them would only hinder us further. Besides, they're in no condition to be making an escape." Kioko paused for a moment as he thought out their options, "I've got it. We keep moving ahead, and once we've defeated 6-2-7, we'll come back and get these people out of here. How does that sound?"

"Sounds like a plan." smiled Angel.

"Good, then let's get moving. The faster 6-2-7 is beaten the faster we can get these guys out of here."

With that Kioko and Angel turned and continued down the corridor. Ahead of them the corridor made a sharp left turn; with no tough security around the two didn't bother checking around the corner to see if it was safe. Which turned out to be a mistake, because just as they were about to make the turn a mace connected to a chain shot in front of them and smashed through the metal wall like it was nothing. Both Kioko and Angel stopped in their tracks and stumbled backwards a little. As the two of them recovered from the sudden surprise a voice echoed through the corridor, a voice they both thought had been silenced.

"Your confidence in beating 6-2-7 is amusing," it was none other than Cobra, "but very foolish. After all, you won't be able to beat us."

The mace withdrew from the wall and Kioko and Angel followed it. They came around the corner to find Cobra standing at the other end, still in rough shape. But this time he wasn't alone, beside him stood a small fox-like experiment. It had dull grey fur with brown markings all over its arms and a bushy tail that swung from side to side. Its dark grey spell book was clutched tightly in Cobra's large hands.

"I should have figured that Vandercamp's 'top man' would have an experiment." blurted Kioko as he glared at the man.

Cobra just smiled while his experiment and Angel stared down one another like gunslingers. "So I finally meet the infamous experiment 6-2-4 or should I say Angel? I've heard a lot about you." said the experiment with a suave, friendly tone.

"I can't say the same for you. What is your name?" asked Angel bluntly.

"The name is Chain-Link." smiled the experiment. "Since you already know my partner I'll skip right to the chase. Surrender your spell book or we'll take it by force."

Kioko gave a small chuckle. "As Cobra there found out first hand, we won't hand over the spell book. So don't bother asking."

Chain-Link just smiled. "That's too bad," the experiment raised his paw toward Angel, "because I'd really rather not harm such a beautiful creature."

Chain-Link's book erupted with a dull grey light as Cobra opened it up. "Maserudon!" called the large man.

Like a bullet from a gun a mace shot out from a glowing yellow circle in the center of Chain-Links paw. Its speed caught Angel by surprise; all she could do was cross her arms in front of her a take the impact the best she could. Before Kioko could even blink the attack struck his partner, sending her skidding back down the hall as the mace continued to push her. She clenched her teeth in pain, the force of the attack was incredible, and it felt like a comet had just hit her. The attack didn't slow down at all as it drove the pink experiment through the wall and out of sight.

"Angel!" cried Kioko as he watched the mace retract from the gaping hole left in the wall.

"Even after a hit like that she is far from finished," said Chain-Link casually, "so I wouldn't worry about her. Instead, you should be worrying about yourself."

"What?"

"Sero-Macen!"

Kioko gave a gasp as four chains tipped with arrowheads wrapped themselves around his arms and legs and lifted him into the air. He looked toward the experiment to see that the chains were coming from where Chain-Links fingers had been. But what made him nervous was that in the center of his paw another arrowhead was sticking out of a glowing yellow circle, like an arrow ready to be launched.

"There are three ways to defeat an experiment. The first way is simply to burn their book, the second way is to beat that experiment until the safety mechanism triggers and their book self-destructs, and the final way is to kill their partner. Once an experiment has chosen a partner they can never find another, so if they lose that partner, they have no real option but to accept defeat." said Chain-Link with a small smirk.

"Let me guess," smiled Kioko, "if I don't hand over our book you'll kill me, right?"

"I'd really rather not if it can be helped. I don't like spilling blood, it's too barbaric for my taste."

"That's very honorable of you."

"Thank you." said Chain-Link as he bowed his head slightly.

Suddenly, Cobra gave a frustrated yell and stamped his massive foot. "Enough of this ridiculous babbling! Chain-Link, just kill him already so we can get the book!"

The foxy experiment glared over his shoulder at Cobra and was about to say something, but Angel's voice suddenly cut him off. Everyone looked over toward the hole in the wall and saw the pink experiment emerging with numerous cuts and bruises all over her body. "I won't allow either you to harm my partner." said Angel as she stared angrily at Cobra and Chain-Link.

"Well it took you longer than I thought to recover. Don't tell me the great 6-2-4 is beginning to lose her touch." smirked Chain-Link.

"You wish!" shouted Angel as she suddenly charged toward the two men.

"Angel wait!" yelled Kioko as his partner fly by him.

But she did not pay any attention to him; she had her sights set on Chain-Link. The grey experiment calmly stood before his approaching attacker as if there weren't a care in the world. "She has such a spark, that's not something found very often in a female. I like it, too bad I have to extinguish It." smiled Chain-Link sympathetically as he raised his paw toward Angel. Cobra once again summoned the 'Maserudon' spell, but this time it shout forth with even greater speed, catching Angel by surprise. Angel stopped in her tracks and braced for the impact that came just a second later. The spell slammed into her gut knocking the breathe out of her and sending her flying back toward the hole in the wall.

But this time she grabbed a hold of the mace and drove her feet into the floor. The claws on her feet kicked up sparks as they slid across the bare metal floor. She was nearly to the hole when, to everyone's surprise; she brought the spell to a halt. Chain-Links eyes widened with amazement as the chain of his spell went slack with a metallic clank as it hit the floor. Angel was left holding the large mace in her arms, she gasped as she tried to catch her breath. Kioko clenched his teeth in worry as he saw blood trickle down from the corners of her mouth. But despite all of this the pink experiment still managed to give a toothy smile.

"You shouldn't judge an experiment just because of their gender," Angel lifted the heavy mace above her head with only one paw and grabbed hold of the chain with the other. She began to spin the mace above her head as if it were nothing, making Chain-Link take a cautious step back, "because if you do, you might just end up regretting it!"

With a heavy groan Angel sent the mace straight back toward Chain-Link and cobra. The fox experiment couldn't react in time and was struck in the face by his on spell. The hit caused him to lose his focus and the chains around Kioko's arms and legs released their grip. The boy dropped back down to the ground and in one swift motion revealed the black book from behind his back. It instantly began to glow, but before the boy could say a word Angel appeared on his shoulder and clasped her paw over his mouth.

"Let's not use any spells on these guys," instructed Angel as Kioko looked up at her out of the corner of his eye, "We need to save as much power as we can for 6-2-7."

Kioko gently pulled her paw off of his mouth. "Don't you think these guys are a bit too strong for us to hold back like that?"

"Where has your confidence suddenly gone, Kioko." smiled Angel as she jumped off his shoulder. "Don't worry, I have a plan."

"You do?"

"Yes. You're right in thinking that it would be next to impossible to take on opponents of their level without spells. But we don't need to fight them directly. If we split up and make only one of us a target, the other will be able to ambush them and destroy their book."

"Splitting up might be too risky. There are still guards out there after all. Besides, which one of us would be the target?"

"Give me the book," ordered Angel as she raised her paw toward Kioko, "I will be the target."

"What, no way!" shouted Kioko. "There is now way I'm letting you be the target!"

"It would make the most sense. If I take the book I will make the most tempting target and they will most certainly follow me. They might even think that you abandoned me, which would give you an even greater element of surprise."

"I really don't like that plan, Angel."

"Just have faith in me, please," by now Chain-Link was slowly getting back to his feet, still holding his nose, "We don't have much time, now please, just give me the book. I'll be fine."

Kioko hesitated, he looked down the hall at Chain-Link and Cobra, who was yelling at the experiment to stop being a wimp, and then looked back at Angel. Ordinarily, he wouldn't even consider doing something so risky, but he could clearly see the confidence in her eyes. So he reluctantly handed her the book. Chain-Link lowered his paw and opened his eyes just in time to see the two turn and run. With a small growl Chain-Link and Cobra chased after them. Within only a few seconds Kioko and Angel reached a split in the corridor, with one last glance the two of them went their separate ways, Angel running right and Kioko to the left. Kioko didn't like the feeling, he felt as though he was leaving her defenseless, even though he knew how skilled she was. But he knew that all he could do now is pray and try to find some way to ambush Cobra and his experiment.

The large black man and his experiment reached the intersection a few seconds behind their opponents. Chain-Link quickly looked left and right, trying to figure out which way they had gone. His ears twitched in every direction, trying to catch the slightest sound of running feet. To his surprise he heard the sound of shoes running to the left and paws running to the right.

"Well, which way did they go?" asked Cobra impatiently.

A smile crossed Chain-Links maw as he glanced down the two hallways. "It would appear that they have split up."

"Split up? Why would they split up?" asked the large man.

"I'm not sure, it doesn't make sense. But that doesn't matter, with the two of them apart they'll be easy to defeat. I saw that Angel had the spell book with her and she ran to the right, while her partner ran to the left. We will go after the experiment."

"Well than what are we going to do about Kioko?"

"Did you forget our new spell," laughed Chain-Link.

"Oh, I nearly forgot about that!" grinned Cobra as he flipped through the spell book enthusiastically. The book began to glow after Cobra had found the page he wanted. "Nasu Marudon!"

Chain-Link raised his paw into the air and brought down upon the floor. A moment later large glowing circles began to appear on the walls, ceilings, and floors. Slowly, gleaming metal arms and legs began to emerge from the glowing circles, and moments later the hall was filled with large suits of medieval armor; all of which were carrying large swords, maces and even spears. "While we pursue Angel, these guys will; take care of her partner."

With a wave of his paw Chain-Link sent the armor marching down the corridor while him and Cobra ran the other way. For Angel it quickly began to seem like she had been running forever. She was panting heavily as she ran as fast as she could, clutching the black spell book to her chest tightly. Her memories of running through the forests and streets of Kauai without a partner came rushing back to her, why exactly she did not know. Perhaps, she was worrying that something would happen to Kioko and she would be alone once again. Or it was such a mundane thing as her muscle memory of these actions triggering her mind to recount the last time it was used. Either way, she knew that now was not the time to analyze her thoughts. She came to a bend in the corridor and after stopping to peak around the corner, and make sure the area was clear, she let her self fall against the cold walls.

The cold metal felt refreshing against her body, and for a moment she allowed her guard to drop. She closed her eyes, raised her head and gave an exhausted sigh. But suddenly, as she shifted her position in order to find another cool spot, Chain-Links voice rang out. "It's very impolite to run from others, my dear Angel." His voice seemed to come from everywhere at once and just as Angel began to look around for him a spear seemed to emerge from the wall across from her. Angel gasped as it shot out, barely missing her as she jumped to the side. "A beautiful woman like yourself should have some manners, don't you agree?" Chain-Links voice called out again. "I'd really like to teach you, but I can't if you keep running, so I guess I'm just going to have to stop you."

Without warning another spear shot from the wall but Angel again managed to dodge. That spear was soon followed by another, and then another, and soon Angel was dodging them by the dozens. In a short amount of time she had sidestepped, jumped, and back-flipped her way down the corridor, landing in an adjoining hallway where the spears seemed to stop. She stared down the corridor with amazement, there were so many spears sticking out from the walls that you couldn't see more than five feet. Suddenly, her senses detected something above her. She looked up and saw a spear right above her head; it shot downward so quickly that Angel could not side step it. Without thought she leaned back and held the book out in front of her, closing her eyes she hoped for the best. There came a metallic "thunk" and Angel slowly opened her eyes. Her breath left her as she found that the spear had passed between her arms and between her and the book.

"That was very good," echoed Chain-Link's voice as Angel stepped cautiously away from the spear as if it were a deadly serpent ready to strike "Your agility is admirable and your senses are of the highest quality. It may not be gentlemanly to say this and if you take offense I apologize, but you would certainly make an excellent mate."

"Don't even start with that bullshit," growled Angel as if he were standing right next to her "You aren't the first male to say that to me, not by a mile, but I'll tell you what I told all of them. I'm not letting anyone touch my body like that. So you can just forget about any fantasies you may have."

"Please do not insult me. I would never disrespect a fair woman like that. I am not a barbarian like so many other males are. I am considerate; allow me to demonstrate. I can sense that you are weary, so I will tell you from which direction my next attack will come."

"What?" blurted Angel, surprised by this odd behavior.

"To your left."

Trusting the experiments warning Angel looked to her left and saw a giant spiked ball drop down from the ceiling and begin rolling quickly toward her. The pink experiment spun around and ran as the deadly sphere tore down the hallway after her. At the same moment Kioko began to slow down his pace as he ran down the seemingly endless hallway. Finally, he came to a full stop, walking over to the wall he tried to catch his breathe.

'That should do it, I should be far enough away that I can ambush them.' Thought Kioko as he looked back down the corridor, hunched over with his hands on his knees. "This little plan of yours better work, Angel. For both our sakes."

Kioko pushed off the wall and slowly began to walk back down the hall. He began to make the transition from walking to running, wiping the sweat from his brow as he forced his body forward. It was obvious to him that he was at his limit. He was exhausted and all of his running had kept his wounds from closing, he had never pushed himself this hard before. But nowhere in his mind did quitting make its appearance. There was not a doubt in his mind that he would lose, no doubt in his mind that Angel would be defeated. That was impossible.

Suddenly, the lights in the corridor flickered and died. The red emergency lights sprung to life, illuminating the corridor in their eerie glow. Kioko slowed to a stop as he thought he heard some one coming. But as he stood there, completely still, there came not a sound. Then in the dim glow he saw a flicker of light, a reflection off some large object. In an instant a massive metal spear crashed into the floor in front of Kioko's feet. Startled, the boy stumbled backwards and looked back toward the shimmering light. His jaw dropped as four large suits of medieval armor emerged from the darkness.

"You've got to be kidding me," blurted Kioko, "Are they really that desperate that they are putting on suits of armor?" Underestimating the threat, Kioko charged toward the suits of armor. "I don't have time to waist on you idiots!"

He skidded to a stop in front of the lead suit of armor and spun around on his toes. The heel of his right foot smashed into the side of the armors helmet with a loud bang. Kioko smirked expecting the helmet to fly off and reveal a dazed man, but to his surprise there was nothing under the helmet, it was hollow. Kioko landed back on the ground, still staring at the empty armor in amazement, but a glint of metal snapped him out of his trance. A massive sword sliced through the air and barely missed the boy. A few back flips moved him away from immediate danger, but the lumbering, steel behemoths just continued to walk toward him. Kioko's frustration grew as he watched he wall of armor ready their weapons.

"I don't know if you can understand me, but I hope you realize what you're doing. You stand between me and my partner," smirked Kioko as he yanked the spear that had nearly struck him out of the floor, "That is something that I cannot allow!"

Before the living suits of armor could take another step, the headless suit was knocked straight back onto the floor by the tip of the spear. A second fell when Kioko spun the spear above his head and brought it smashing into its side. Both suits fell like a ton of bricks and busted into pieces. The boy was surprised at how easily the enemies were defeated, and for a moment he thought this fight would be easy. But the pieces of armor suddenly began to disappear into the floor and the sound of clanking metal echoed from behind him. He looked over his shoulder to see the two suits of armor rising back up from the floor. He was now surrounded, and to make it worse, a sharp pain knocked him to his knees.

One of the knights stepped up to the boy and raised its large sword. Kioko stared up at the monster with blood running from his mouth. "Damn it." growled Kioko as he watched the sword fall toward him.

**Well that's the end of this chapter. I wanted to end this story in the next chapter, but it looks like there will be one more chapter after that. Unless I make it a really long chapter, but I know that those aren't a favorite of readers. So unless you tell me otherwise there will be another chapter after the next.**


	12. GoodBye

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 12: Good-bye

The beauty that was the "World 1" was nearly gone. It's majestic and pristine layout now more closely resembled a war zone. The streets were filled with debris, there was not a single unscathed building to be seen, and small fires were breaking out everywhere. It seemed as though the battle had been raging forever, yet despite everything, very little progress had been made. 6-2-7 had only a few nicks, cuts and bruises, while his opponents were in much worse condition. Snooty had large gashes on his sides, bruising all around his face and tears all through his wings. His partner, while not being directly in the fight, had still managed to gain a cut across her shoulder, bruises, and even a broken finger. Lilo was in similar condition; she had a large wound on her back from where a piece of cement had struck her, she had large bruises on her legs and an injury to her left eye.

But Stitch was the worst off out of all of them. Since he refused to let Lilo help him, he had been fighting with nothing but his own strength. This left him wide open to all of 6-2-7's powerful spells, which left his body a mess. He had open wounds all over his body, a deep gash on his forehead spilt blood down his face, he had broken ribs, a torn muscle in his shoulder, and numerous other injuries that would have most beings bed ridden. But he was not about to let his body keep him from his goal; he was still determined to beat 6-2-7 at any cost.

The little blue experiment jumped up toward 6-2-7 after one of Snooty's spells forced the cone-headed experiment into the air. Stitch cocked his fist back and threw it toward his opponent, but it was quickly countered by his foe. 6-2-7 grabbed Stitch's wrist and kicked him back toward the ground while at the same time raising is paw toward Snooty who was getting into position for another attack. "Gigano-Igen!" shouted Vandercamp.

In an instant a massive ice hammer appeared at 6-2-7's palm, it's building sized head right above Snooty. The evil experiment grasped the handle of the hammer and brought it down on the little bat, knocking him out of the air and through the roof of a building down to the ground. 6-2-7 landed with a pleased smirk as he watched the hammer disappear, leaving behind a smoking crater. At the same moment his ears twitched as a pleasing sound cut through the smoke filled battlefield. It was the sound of Victoria screaming for her partner as she ran over to the pile of rubble. 'These bonds, these friendships between humans and experiments… their so pathetic. And yet it's so fun to watch them crumble' thought 6-2-7 as he looked from Victoria to Lilo. The young Hawaiian was just sitting on the sidelines with a timid expression and a hopeless look in her eyes, she seemed lost with no idea where to go. 'But this isn't what I wanted. I wanted a good fight between Stitch and I. Without her using the book, Stitch is nothing more than an insect under my paw.'

'If it weren't for 6-2-6's giant ego he would be able to realize this. I guess I'll just have to make him realize it' smirked 6-2-7 as he watched Stitch run straight for him. 'I won't hold back this time.'

As Stitch leapt into the air for the attack, 6-2-7 clenched his fist as hard as he could and cocked his arm back. Before Stitch could even throw his own punch, 6-2-7 drove his fist deep into Stitch's gut. In one instant all of Stitch's breath was knocked out of him and his whole body seemed to go numb. His mouth dropped open with a spray of spit and blood, his eyes bulged and a moment later he was transformed into a living projectile. The little blue experiment flew like a shot backwards, sailing through the air for a considerable distance before skipping across the ground, through a few slabs of concrete and finally sliding to a stop just a few feet in front of his partner.

Lilo's heart gave a jolt when her partner slid to a rough stop in front of her. A queasy knot formed in the pit of her stomach as she looked at all of his blood wounds, which left a red line across the concrete for the last few feet. Every part of her soul screamed at her to help him, to scoop him up and run away, far away from any danger. But she couldn't even speak, let alone take such drastic action. The fear of him yelling at her again kept her from opening her mouth, though she didn't know why. She knew that all he would do is yell again, it's not like he'd hit her or anything. So why was she so scared, why couldn't she get the guts to help her friend? There had to be some other reason! It wasn't that she was afraid to get into the fight, it wasn't that she feared Stitch striking her, so what was it?

Stitch slowly began to push himself back up but fell back to the ground with pain. Suddenly, it began to dawn on her; the reason began to show clearly in her mind. The reason why she wasn't rushing to his aid, the reason why she wasn't stepping in, was because she wanted only to help him achieve his goal of being the winner of this tournament. She had silently taken the back seat in his battles; she was letting him guide the way. Valdez had been right; she was just a power source for Stitch, nothing more.

Stitch once again tried to sit up, but he failed and fell back to the ground.

But it didn't need to be this way, she had a choice of whether or not she was going to let herself be used or to actually help. Lilo then realized that she had been living a lie. She had not been acting as Stitch's partner even though she had claimed to be. But that was about to change; she wasn't going to take the back seat anymore, she was going to take the driver's seat. Lilo tightened her grip on the blue book and slowly began to stand up. 6-2-7 smiled devilishly as he recognized the girls firm expression.

"I hope that's not all you've got to give, Stitch." blurted the young girl. Her timid voice was now unrecognizable as it was crushed underneath a strong tone.

The blue experiment was startled by the girl's sudden outburst. He rolled his head back so that he was looking at her upside down and gave her a confused look. "What are you talking about?"

"You said that you could beat him without my help. You don't seem to be doing too well."

"Shut up, I can still beat him," Stitch once again began trying to sit up "I don't need your help!"

Like all the times before, Stitch fell to the ground in pain. As Lilo looked down upon her friend a small piece of their relationship came back. Breaking its way through all that had happened so far. The girl smiled and opened the spell book. "You're too stubborn."

Suddenly, the book erupted in light like that of a bon fire. The massive release of power took everyone by surprise, especially Stitch. A refreshing wave swept through his body, his minor pains and injuries swept away with it. The little experiment leapt up onto his feet and gave a quick stretch. He then looked over his shoulder at Lilo, a stern look upon his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you? All of a sudden you're willing to fight? Were you in a daze or something?" snapped Stitch impatiently.

Lilo matched Stitch's stern look with one of her own. "In a way I was in a daze. But I snapped out of it and realized that just because you're the one fighting, doesn't mean you're the one in command. If one person takes control, it is no longer a partnership. I know you want to beat 6-2-7, but you can't do it on your own. So either accept that you need help, or lose."

Stitch stayed silent for a moment then said, "I'm glad to have you at my side again, Lilo. But this is no time to start a big conversation, so save it for later. For the time being focus on the battle."

The two of them stared at each other for a moment, soaking in each other's gazes. Then, like hardened soldiers, they turned toward 6-2-7 with cold resolve. The evil experiment smirked menacingly as he saw his provocation play out just as he had hoped. The fight was about to get a whole lot more interesting! "Alright here we go! Gigano-Punchito!" Stitch charged his attack and then, fueled by the power pouring from his partner, he launched forward. The little experiment attacked with such speed that the only sign that he moved was the explosion that erupted from where he had stood.

The speed caught 6-2-7 off guard and left him wide open to Stitch's powerful punch. The attack sent the evil experiment rocketing backwards, smashing through several buildings before coming to a rest high up on the outer wall of the ship. 6-2-7 was left embedded in the wall, but not for long, as Stitch appeared standing on the wall above him. Another punch sent him tearing through the wall down to the ground. Stitch took his first breath as he stared down at the cloud raised by 6-2-7's impact. But the blue experiment had little time to rest before 6-2-7 shot up from below and stopped in mid air in front of Stitch. With an excited grin on his face 6-2-7 raised his paw toward Stitch. A distant cry from Vandercamp summoned the dreaded Gigano-Koruk spell. Stitch barely managed to dodge the attack as 6-2-7 fired it point blank range.

The spell blasted a hole through the outer wall but that was all it did. But despite the miss 6-2-7 attached himself to the wall with an excited grin still on his maw. Stitch reappeared on the rooftop of a nearby building breathing heavily from his close call. 6-2-7 looked toward him and began to laugh. "You see how much more fun this fight is already? And the best part is it can only get better!"

Suddenly, 6-2-7 disappeared and then reappeared right next to Stitch, his fist cocked for his own attack. This time it was Stitch that was caught off guard. 6-2-7's fist smashed into his cheek and sent him flying through the air. Stitch bounced off the roof of one building but managed to land on his feet on the next. The two experiments instantly ran toward each other, jumping into the air in an intercept course with one another. Even from a far distance Lilo could tell what Stitch was thinking and so she summoned another Gigano-Punchito spell. Vandercamp appeared to have the same connection and so he summoned 6-2-7's Gigano-Koruk spell. The two experiments met in mid-air and their two spells collided with earth shaking force, resulting in a magnificent explosion of blue and red that disintegrated the tops of the nearby buildings.

It seemed at first that the two opponents had been obliterated in their own explosion but they suddenly reappeared in the middle of the street exchanging blows that would cripple any other experiment. As it would so happen their brawl was not far from where Victoria and Snooty were huddled in the rubble, watching with utter amazement. The battle in Victoria's mind might as well have been between two titans, but Snooty saw it far differently. He couldn't help but feel jealous toward Stitch and even 6-2-7, their power was unbelievable! Compared to them… he was just an insect. It wasn't fair, why were they so much more powerful than him? He trained just as hard as Lilo and Stitch and yet their power was far greater. Why was it then that he wasn't making the progress that his friends were? Was he doing something wrong?

No, he was doing everything right, so then what was it? Suddenly, there came a huge crash, Snooty snapped out of his thoughts and looked up to see 6-2-7 flying down the street and into a small shop, destroying it completely. The batty experiment looked then toward his friend, Stitch, and something caught his attention. His friend was smiling; it wasn't a big smile, just barely large enough to make the corners of his mouth rise. But it wasn't a smile of pride; Stitch wasn't smiling because he just knocked his enemy for a loop… he was smiling because he was enjoying himself. Despite his numerous injuries and the severity of the situation, deep down Stitch was having fun. It was then that he realized the difference between Stitch, 6-2-7 and himself, they liked to fight. Snooty had always been reluctant to fight, even during his training he shied away from encounters with other experiments.

Now it seemed that shyness had taken its toll. That's why he couldn't get as strong as fast, he didn't like the fighting and so he subconsciously held himself back. It was a morally sound thing to do, but when trying to win a fight, morals do no good. Unfortunately for Snooty, morals aren't easily dropped, even if you want to. Now sitting on the sidelines and watching his close friend fight a monster he felt so helpless. He wanted to step in, but he had no spells strong enough to even phase 6-2-7 so he didn't know what help he could be. It was so frustrating! Snooty clenched his teeth angrily as the thought sat uncomfortably in his head. Victoria finally noticed her partner's plight and turned to face him.

"Snooty, what's wrong?" asked the red head concernedly.

Her friend was silent for a moment. "It's not fair, it's just not fair!" growled the little bat.

His friend didn't know what he was talking about. "What's not fair?"

Snooty looked up at the girl as if she had just asked the worlds dumbest question, but he quickly remembered that she could not read his thoughts. "Why is it that 6-2-7 and Stitch are so strong and I'm so weak?"

"You're not weak, Snooty. You're far from weak."

"Compared to them I am weak! I don't have half the power they do even though I've worked just as hard as them! It's not fair, it's not fair!" shouted the experiment as tears began to build up in his eyes.

It was needless to say that Victoria was ill prepared for a break down at this point, but she tried to the best of her abilities to reassure her partner. But the more she tried to assure Snooty of his strength the more she realized that they were weaker. She hadn't really taken notice of it till then but it was true. While Lilo and Stitch's strength grew in leaps and bounds, theirs seemed to only grow at a steady pace. Snooty was right, it wasn't fair and there appeared to be no reason for the discrepancy. As she stroked the bats head she held their book tight, it looked like she was trying to squeeze to power out of it. She looked over to Lilo, whose book was engulfed in light, with an almost jealous gaze. They had that power too, she just knew it, and they just needed to bring it forth.

"You're right, it isn't fair," she said softly as she looked back at Snooty "But we're going to make it fair. We're every bit as strong as they are and we will prove it here and now!"

Snooty's face instantly lit up as he connected with her resolve. "We'll show them that we are a force to be reckoned with!"

Smiles crossed their faces as they turned toward the battle. "This battle will be our defining moment!" Their spell book suddenly erupted into a glistening beacon of light. "Today, Victoria Thompson and Snooty will defeat 6-2-7!"

At that moment 6-2-7 was once again charged toward Stitch, who was now starting to tire. Stitch took the full force of his opponents attack as he dug his toes into the ground and repelled 6-2-7's assault. But he was not quick enough to block the evil experiment's punch that quickly followed. Stitch skidded down the street and ended up hitting head first into a lamppost. 6-2-7 was filled with too much elation to slow down as he continued his attack, following Stitch down the street he prepared to pounce. But before he could land his attack he was knocked out of the air by the most unexpected of things, a Gikair spell. The spell slammed the experiment into the side of a building and certainly startled him.

The experiment peeled himself out of the wall and glared across the street at his surprise attacker. "I hope you didn't forget about us, cone head!" called Victoria in a taunting tone.

"I have no business with you weaklings!" snarled 6-2-7, obviously sore about his fun being interrupted.

Victoria just smirked. "Who are you calling a weakling, buddy?"

6-2-7 then realized that the flying experiment was not with his partner, but a small change in the breeze instantly alerted him to its location. 6-2-7 looked up to see Snooty hovering above him with a cheesy grin on his face. "Raja Gatsu!" summoned Victoria. The bats distance and the size of the spell made dodging it impossible for 6-2-7 and so he was ground into the ground by the spell. Snooty retreated from above the crater and got into position for his next attack. A moment later an infuriated 6-2-7 burst from the smoking hole in the ground, already charging a spell. He landed and aimed his fist right at Victoria; from a distance Vandercamp cried "Cuton Yashi!"

A mass of water suddenly appeared in the air around 6-2-7's fist and formed into the shape of a bow in his paw. The evil experiment grabbed hold of the water and drew back a long string of it. The string transformed into an arrow which 6-2-7 launched toward Victoria. The attack tore through the air straight for the girl but before it could connect it as knocked out of the air by Snooty. Who deflected it with a flap of his wings.

"You little pest, how dare you get in my way!" snarled 6-2-7 as he glared viciously at the pair.

"We're not in your way," smirked Victoria, "You started this fight against not only Lilo and Stitch but us as well. So you better keep that in mind. It's the four of us against you, and I say 'you' because Vandercamp is nothing more than your tool."

"Hey, I am not his tool!" snapped Vandercamp as the girl pointed her thumb at him.

6-2-7's anger abated long enough for a sadistic smirk to cross his face. "You don't know what you're getting yourselves into. I have the power of 20 different experiments… you can't win."

"We'll see about that!" smiled Victoria confidently.

"Indeed we will." smiled 6-2-7 as he licked his lips.

Back down in the bowels of the ship things had gotten even more hectic. Chain-Link was now using more and more powerful spells while Angel still had no good way to defend herself. The twisting halls of the ship were beginning to feel more like a maze than anything else. She had no idea where in the ship she might be, going up and down through decks, constant left and right turns, and no point in which to gain her bearings, she was feeling hopelessly lost. At the same time her chances of Kioko being able to find her let alone ambush their enemies was growing smaller and smaller. Her only hope was to make a stand and hope she could hold on long enough for her partner to find her. It was risky, but it was the only thing she could do… but the problem was where to make her stand?

Her thoughts were interrupted as four large axes suddenly appeared on the ceiling and swung down toward her. The agile little experiment evaded the attack easily by jumping over the deadly weapons just as they were about to strike her. As always there was little time to rest before the next attack. This time a series of spears shot out from the walls in front of her to block her path, but with little difficulty she kicked through them.

"I couldn't be in a worse position," said Angel allowed to herself, "I'm surrounded by the element my enemy controls!" Angel leapt into the air to avoid a spike pit that suddenly appeared in front of her. "And just how many spells does this guy have? I don't think he's used the same attack more than twice. But the worst thing is that he knows this place better than I do. He has every advantage I can think of, so than why hasn't he gotten me yet?"

Angel made a quick turn around a sharp corner but made a quick stop as she found herself face to face with Chain-Link and Cobra. The foxy experiment gave another smooth smile as he raised his paw toward her. "I haven't 'gotten' you yet because I'm still hoping that we can resolve this peacefully. So please, just hand over the book and we can end this madness."

"Oh come on, you know she isn't going to give it to you just like that! We have to take it from her!" shouted Cobra, frustrated by his partner's courteous nature.

"Your crudeness disgusts me." said Chain-Link as he looked over his shoulder at the man.

"But he's right," snapped Angel, "You think just because you ask nicely that I'm going to hand over my book to the enemy? You're crazy."

Chain-Link gave a sigh and shook his head slowly. "Why must you keep dragging this on? If you keep this up I might give up on the beauty that I know lays within you. But if you want to keep fighting, then I shall honor your wishes."

"Gigano-Zariken!" called Cobra.

In the next instant five massive crescent shaped blades shot from Chain-Links paw. Angel leapt over the first one, leaned out of the way of the second, but the third cut her shoulder, the fourth cut her hip and the fifth nicked her side. She landed on her injured hip, making her yelp with pain, but she quickly got up, turned around and ran. Making a stand now seemed nearly suicidal, but it was still her best chance. Despite her bleeding wounds she managed to run a considerable distance, zigzagging through a few intersections, and evading even more of Chain-Links spells. Exhaustion however, was taking its toll. Her lungs hurt, her legs burned, and her steps were starting to get clumsy, but she kept going with all her might.

An unexpected thought suddenly appeared in her mind from out of nowhere… Kioko would be proud. The thought brought a smile to her tired face. If he saw her fighting so hard he would surely be proud of her. After all, he was the one to urge her to do her very best and to never give in. She most certainly would have been defeated by now if it hadn't been for him.

The hallway suddenly ended at a pair of large doors. Angel, still smiling, stumbled through the doors and found herself on a long catwalk high above what appeared to be the ships engines. It was surprisingly quiet, no more than a low, vibrating hum filled the air. Another door lay at the other end of the walkway; Angel resumed her quick pace toward the door. At the same time her thoughts returned to Kioko. The more she thought about him the more confidant she became. Even in this dire situation, she felt her victory was assured.

All of a sudden, a spear shot out from the railing of the walkway tripping her and sending her falling right onto her bad hip again. This time the pain was too intense for her to get up. Holding the book tightly to her chest she rolled onto her back and looked back the way she came. To her disdain Chain-Link and Cobra were standing at the end of the walkway, smiling.

"I'm sorry my dear girl, but I'm afraid I must end this chase here. I gave you plenty of opportunities to surrender and spare yourself the pain. But sadly you refused my offers. I would give you one last chance to hand over the book, but I can tell by the way you're sneering at me that it would be pointless."

Cobra's book began to glow and Chain-Link raised his paw into the air. "Dioga How-Zuken!" shouted the man as he raised the book above his head.

The grey experiment slapped his paw to the floor and a moment later a large glowing circle appeared on the ceiling above them. A moment later a massive cannon began to emerge, its barrel shaped like a dragons head. Noticing the distressed look on Angel's face as she looked up at the cannon, Chain-Link smiled and said: "I'm not cruel so I promise you it won't hurt one bit."

Angel's ears fell as did her heart as she watched the dragons mouth fill with a golden energy. Reality, it seems, always finds a way to shatter dreams. The world can never live up to the hopes that minds create. So was it too much to believe that she could win? Probably.

Cobra gave a satisfied laugh as the cannon readied to fire. "Finally, I'll be rid of you, you worthless little…!"

Suddenly, a large broad sword impaled the grey book and knocked it from Cobra's hand. The sword pierced the walkway in front of them, leaving the book skewered on its blade and a moment later yellow flames erupted from the center of the book.

"No!" shouted Chain-Link and Cobra in unison. The duo turned around to see Kioko hunched over in the doorway, breathing and bleeding heavily but smiling victoriously. "You, how did you survive the iron soldiers?" yelled Cobra furiously.

Kioko was silent for a moment as he caught his breathe but then said: "I'm not sure really. They just about had my head, but for some reason they just fell apart before they could finish me. Perhaps the spells you used drew too much power from them or maybe you got too far away from them. It doesn't really matter though. After they fell apart I simply followed the trail of destruction and it lead me right to you."

"No, no I can't believe this I can't be defeated!" shouted Chain-Link frantically as he ran over to his book and tried to pat out the flames with his paws. But it was too late, the book was nearly completely destroyed, only the four corners remained. "I can't vanish yet, I can't vanish yet, I can't vanish yet…" Chain-Links voice faded away as the last pieces of the book turned to ash.

It was then that Kioko and Angel made eye contact and instantly smiles crossed their faces. Just like that Angel's hopes returned, reality had not shattered them yet and there was still a chance they could make it out of this in one piece. Just then, Cobra let out a horrible yell and looked toward Kioko like some crazed animal. Kioko's smile disappeared behind a deadly glare as the two men stared one another down.

"You've pushed me too far now, boy! I'm taking you two out of the picture once and for all!" Cobra turned toward Angel and ran toward her, grabbing the sword out of the floor as he went. "And I'm going to start with her!" cried Cobra with a malicious laugh. Angel gasped with fear as the man raised the sword above his head and brought it down toward her. The female experiment closed her eyes and looked away, expecting the cut of the cold steel. But instead, all she heard was Cobra gasp.

She looked up to see Kioko standing above her with Cobra's wrist firmly in his grip. "How, how did you…" puzzled Cobra allowed as he tried to comprehend the boys seemingly inhuman speed.

"You wounded her, you made her suffer and you put her life at risk… those are three crimes that I cannot forgive," said Kioko in a voice that sent chills down Angel's spine. "However, punishing you would be a form of revenge and I made a promise not to take revenge. So I give you this chance to back off and leave this place. I suggest you take it."

Cobra was silent for a moment before letting out a loud laugh. "You're too soft, boy!"

Cobra suddenly spun the sword in his hand nearly taking Kioko's hand off. But the boy managed to pull away just in time. Cobra used this moment to jab the sword right past Kioko and straight toward Angel. He laughed as the blade grew closer to her pink body, but his laughter was cut short by Kioko's fist as it slammed into the side of his face. Cobra was knocked off balance and stumbled toward the railing. The extra weight of the sword kept him off balance and caused him to tumble over the edge. The large man screamed as he fell into the depths of the ships engines, a small spark of electricity announced the end of the man.

Kioko as if he had magically regained some of his strength walked over to Angel and knelt down beside her. "That's twice I've had to save you today." he smiled.

"Shut up." she replied as she held her arms up toward Kioko, begging him to pick her up like a child.

Kioko picked her up and held her firmly in his arms. "There's just one last thing we have to do."

"6-2-7 must be defeated at any cost." added Angel.

"And he will be. Then, after it's all over we can finally rest."

Kioko released her and got her back on her feet. "But only then." she said as they looked at each other.

"Well then lets not waste any more time, lets get going!"

With that the two ran off down the walkway, toward the fight of their lives. But while their fight was approaching, Snooty and Victoria were in the very middle of theirs. With newfound determination they kept 6-2-7 on his toes as they launched spell after spell. They blocked, dodged or countered every attack he threw at them. The evil experiment couldn't believe what was happening, his frustrated growls echoed through the rubble. In the mean time, Lilo used the break in order to get over to where Stitch was still lying on the ground.

"Hey, are you ok? That was some hit you took." she said as she lifted Stitch's head onto her lap.

"I'm fine, don't worry." said Stitch only half paying attention to her. Most of his attention was on Snooty and Victoria; he was just as shocked by their new power as 6-2-7 was.

Lilo soon noticed this and watched the two of them as well. "They're just full of surprises aren't they?"

"They really are. It makes me glad they're on our side." said Stitch as he watched Snooty blast 6-2-7 into a window.

"Definitely." agreed Lilo.

6-2-7 suddenly burst from the window, his paws engulfed in flame. Vandercamp flipped a page in the book and yelled: "Kenzo-Fuerga!"

Both Snooty and Victoria gasped as they recognized the spell. "He's got Tori's spells?" asked Snooty to himself as he watched 6-2-7 fling a series of burning crescent shaped blades right at him. They came at him with more speed than Tori's but they were just as easy to handle. A "Gikair" spell blasted all the blades to pieces leaving 6-2-7 wide open. The bat wasted no time in taking this opportunity; he dove down and stopped right next to the evil experiment, catching him off guard. This time a "Raja-Gatsu" spell sent 6-2-7 skipping over the ground before slamming into a pile of debris.

"Now, Snooty! Oruga Gotsu!" cried Victoria.

The bat nodded and flew high above the dazed 6-2-7. He began to spin and soon four swirling green columns of energy slammed to the ground around the evil experiment. 6-2-7 tried to grab for a steel bar as he was lifted into the air but he missed and soon found himself in the middle of the purple bats attack. But seeing as how nothing major was happening he began to chuckle.

"Is this all there is to this attack of yours?" laughed 6-2-7.

"Nope, not quite." smirked Victoria.

No sooner had she said that than Snooty's own crescent shaped blades began to shoot out from the swirling masses of energy, cutting 6-2-7 all over. The experiment gave a painful yell as the attack continued for a full minute. Finally, Snooty stopped spinning and the columns of energy disappeared. 6-2-7 fell to the ground with bleeding cuts all over his body.

'It's nearly over,' thought Victoria excitedly, 'it looks like he's really injured! Finally, this is our chance to finish him once and for all! We will be the ones to defeat 6-2-7!' A pulse of light from the blue-green spell book caught the girl's attention. She flipped a page and let out a joyous shriek. "This is it, 6-2-7! This spell shall be your destruction!"

Lilo, Stitch, Vandercamp and 6-2-7 were all taken a back by the outburst and looked to Snooty to see what would happen. "Now, the spell that will finish this fight! Dioga-Gikair!"

Snooty's face went blank as he opened his mouth wide. What appeared to be a normal "Gikair" spell began to form in front of his mouth. But suddenly, the ball of energy began to grow and change shape until it took the form of a giant bird. A strong wind began to fill the area as the massive bird flapped its wings.

"We win, 6-2-7!" grinned Victoria.

With one last flap of it's massive wings the bird dove down toward 6-2-7. With no way to evade the mighty attack 6-2-7 crossed his arms in front of him and took the attack head on. There was a blinding light as the attack connected and a moment later a gigantic explosion leveled the area, knocking Victoria, Lilo, and Vandercamp off their feet. The power of the attack shook the entire ship. Even Kioko and Angel had to brace themselves down below deck. Then, as the chaos died down the destruction became apparent. There were no buildings standing in the immediate area and a massive crater sat where 6-2-7 had just been. Immediately, a feeling of relief swept over the four friends. It was finally over, their long hard battle was finally over, and they were victorious.

Victoria gave a sigh and closed the book with a smile. Walking proudly she made her way over to the edge of the crater, Snooty joining her as she got there. Carefully the red head peered down into the hole and sure enough, lying motionless many decks below was 6-2-7. Her heart felt like it had just been released from a vice, she had never felt so relieved. The girl turned happily toward her friends, who were waiting anxiously for a verdict. Victoria raised her hand and gave a thumbs up, Lilo instantly let out an ecstatic holler.

"It's finally over," sighed Victoria as she walked toward Lilo, "I can't believe that we won." said the girl as she held her arms out to her sides as if she were taking in a refreshing breeze.

Then, in an instant, the feeling of relief disappeared as a crimson red beam tore through the blue-green book, knocking it from Victoria's hand. Victoria's heart stopped as the book fell to the ground, half of it burned away instantly by the blast. Every one of the friends was dumbfounded as they watched blue flames swallow the remains of the book. The only thing to snap Victoria from her sudden trance was the sound of Snooty's voice calling out to her. She turned to see her friend rapidly disappearing into thin air.

"Victoria, save me!" cried the little bat helplessly.

Victoria, feeling as though time had slowed down to a crawl, opened her mouth to speak. But before she could utter a word, a second crimson beam disintegrated the remains of the book. Snooty disappeared before Victoria even knew exactly what had happened. With a sudden, terrible scream, Victoria fell to her knees and began to weep. At the same moment laughter broke through the sounds of crying, laughter that only moments ago had been silenced… or so they had thought. Lilo and Stitch looked beyond Victoria to see a shocking sight; 6-2-7 was sitting casually on a steel girder, with only the injuries that he had gained from Stitch.

"I told her that they could not win." smirked 6-2-7.

"But, how? We saw you get hit." said Lilo with a confused tone.

6-2-7 gave a small chuckle. "Do you think all experiments have outright offensive and defensive attacks? The 6-2-7 that you saw get hit was nothing more than an image created by an illusionary spell. Another gift from one of the experiments I've borrowed spells from. Your friend was fighting absolutely nothing this whole time.

"You bastard!" snapped Stitch furiously as he sat up painfully.

"Don't be angry, 6-2-6. Look at it this way, it's just you and me now."

**Well that's the end of this chapter! Sorry about the long wait and for the length. But I'm trying to get this story done with. I'm really itching to get back to my main series. Anyway, please review!**


	13. Shift

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 13: Shift

"Now we may fight to our full limit's, 6-2-6," said 6-2-7 as he hopped off the steel girder, "There will be no more distractions. You can focus clearly now."

Stitch didn't think he could have gotten any angrier at this arrogant foe, but he was wrong. "You're a damn monster!" snarled Stitch as he pushed himself up.

"I' am no more of a monster than you are. I'm only doing my job." 6-2-7 walked over and stopped on the opposite side of the crater. "Now, I'll take care of one last matter and then we can begin." 6-2-7 slowly raised his paw and pointed it right toward Victoria. "I can't stand her crying any more."

"Gigano-Koruk!" yelled Vandercamp.

With a malicious grin on his face 6-2-7 charged the attack and fired it toward the helpless girl. Both Lilo and Stitch gave a shocked gasp, but immediately the young Hawaiian sprung into action. There was only one thing she could do to save her friend, it was risky, but worth the risk. Lilo flipped through the book and finally yelled: "Ryo-Diorga!"

Victoria could now feel the heat of the spell growing stronger. For the first time she looked up and through teary eyes she could see the crimson beam approaching her. But she wasn't scared, as the heat began to sear her face she felt comfortable. It was a weird thing to feel, she knew that, but in her mind Snooty was gone forever and so what was the point of living. Perhaps death could save her from the feeling that she let her friend down. The attack was now all she could see and so she closed her eyes and waited for the end. A moment later the powerful spell slammed into the ground with a burst of crimson energy.

An amused smile stretched across 6-2-7's face as he watched the smoke clear and reveal the girls savior. Stitch had grabbed Victoria out of the way and had carried her back to where Lilo was. But what got him excited was the fact that Stitch was surrounded in an aura of blue light. The blue experiment sat Victoria down at Lilo's feet; the red head didn't know what had just happened. One moment she was seeing red then a blur of colors and now she was sitting next to her friends, she didn't know what to think.

With a stern look upon his face Stitch marched over to the edge of the crater, never taking his eyes off the evil experiment that had just eliminated one of his allies. It wasn't just about his pride now, now he was fighting for his friend. He had to make sure that Snooty's valiant effort wasn't in vain. He was going to win, no matter what.

"This is it, 6-2-7. You've taken away one of our closest friends, you imprisoned my greatest rival, and you've put innocents at risk. I cannot let you continue, so with Lilo at my side I will use everything in my power to defeat you!" snapped Stitch with the most honorable of tones.

"Let's start things off with a Gigano-Punchito!" shouted Lilo energetically.

Without hesitation, Stitch leapt over the crater toward 6-2-7, his fist cocked back and ready for the attack. "That's right, 6-2-6, show me your power!" grinned 6-2-7 excitedly. Stitch threw his punch straight for 6-2-7's head, but the cone headed experiment caught the punch with little difficulty. However, with the added kick of the "Ryo-Diorga" spell Stitch still managed to push him backwards a good distance. The little blue experiment planted his feet back on the ground and cocked his other fist, another "Gigano-Punchito" quickly formed. This time the attack found its mark, driving straight into 6-2-7's gut. 6-2-7 let out a heavy grunt as he was sent rocketing backwards across the decimated area, crashing through several buildings.

Stitch took a step forward to pursue him, but 6-2-7 suddenly appeared next to him. The evil experiment went low and tried to swipe Stitch's legs out from under him. But Stitch managed to jump into the air and avoid the attack. 6-2-7 countered by throwing a punch, but Stitch managed to grab hold of his wrist and yank him into the air. Stitch landed and immediately caught 6-2-7 with a powerful uppercut. The cone head experiment flew high into the air above the buildings, where with an incredible burst of speed Stitch intercepted him. Another supercharged punch sent 6-2-7 flying back toward the ground, demolishing a building as he crashed through the roof.

But Stitch wasn't done yet; with a look toward Lilo the two partners communicated their next move. "Fisten!" called Lilo. In an instant Stitch let go a massive torrent of energy bolts, each landing with earth shaking force. A moment later the attack stopped and Stitch landed on the roof of a nearby building. Once again there was little pause before 6-2-7 again appeared behind and above Stitch. He barely noticed the attack in time to dodge a stab from 6-2-7's dagger-like claws. But before he could recover, 6-2-7 drove a kick into Stitch's gut that sent him flying, and 6-2-7 quickly topped off the attack as he formed his energy whip and used it to smash Stitch into the ground.

From the edge of the roof 6-2-7 let out a joyous laugh as he saw Stitch pull himself up through the hole he had just formed. "This is wonderful, isn't it, 6-2-6?" cheered 6-2-7 as he leapt into the air high over Stitch's head. The evil experiment pointed both palms toward him, while Vandercamp flipped a few more pages. "Dioga-Zaruken!" the man yelled.

Massive amounts of electricity suddenly began to merge in front of 6-2-7's paws. And a mount later a massive beam of electricity fired toward Stitch, it's leading point turning into the head of serpent. Stitch pulled the rest of his body out of the hole and cocked his fist back, clenching his teeth he countered with a "Gigano-Punchito" by punching the head of the snake. The sparks of electricity whipped around him, tearing the ground at his feet. After a moment the electricity stopped, leaving Stitch's fist scorched. But he had no time to think of the pain as 6-2-7 landed right in front of him and caught his cheek with another kick.

Stitch was sent tumbling into the air while 6-2-7 fired off a crimson beam straight toward him. Stitch though, managed to steady him self as he flew through the air and faced the beam. He crossed his arms over his chest to block the attack, but suddenly 6-2-7 appeared behind him and fired off another beam. Stitch gave a gasp as he looked over his shoulder at the second beam. A moment later both beams collided in mid-air with

Stitch stuck in the middle. The explosion of shades of red made Lilo flinch, especially when she saw Stitch tumble down from the cloud and smack into the ground.

Stitch clenched his teeth with pain as he lay in the rubble; it felt as though his whole body was burning. Even the soothing flow of energy didn't mask the pain very well. Finally, he managed to open his eyes, only to see 6-2-7 diving down toward him with his claws cocked back for another stab. But, proving his toughness, Stitch managed to force him self through the pain in time to catch the evil experiment's paw. 6-2-7 was startled by the quick reflex and was left wide open. Stitch took the chance to kick 6-2-7 in the gut and send him bouncing over the ground. A moment later he managed to get up to his feet. He turned to face the direction in which he kicked 6-2-7.

At first he saw nothing, but then from out of nowhere came a crimson beam that nearly caught him. Fortunately, Stitch managed to leap into the air and land safely on what remained of a small building. He quickly noticed 6-2-7 charging another spell. The cone headed experiment had his paw pointing toward Stitch. Water suddenly began to form around his paw, quickly turning into a large bow. The evil experiment grabbed hold of the water and drew back a long string of it. The string transformed into three large arrows.

"Dioga Cuton-Yashi!" called Vandercamp.

The three arrows launched toward Stitch at extremely high speed, followed closely by dozens more arrows which appeared to fire from the bow like a machine gun. A second later Stitch disappeared behind a cloud of smoke as the arrows smashed through the rubble, completely destroying the building. The spell ended, leaving behind a column of dust that rose steadily into the air. Both Lilo and 6-2-7 watched the smoke carefully, waiting to see a sign of Stitch. But as the smoke lifted they saw nothing but a pile of wreckage. A sick feeling began to form in Lilo's stomach as no sign of life appeared. Was he hurt?

"Don't tell me that spell knocked him out," blurted 6-2-7, "I'd be extremely disappointed if it did."

Lilo glared at the experiment and was about to speak when the sound of twisting metal caught her ear. 6-2-7 also heard it and focused harder on the rubble, but Stitch suddenly burst up through the ground behind him, taking 6-2-7 by surprise.

"Don't get disappointed just yet!" shouted Stitch as he threw a punch at 6-2-7's head.

The ground buckled and exploded from the force of Stitch's attack. The two experiments were engulfed in a cloud of dust, but a second later 6-2-7 leapt gracefully from the cloud of dust and landed a few yards away. The cloud settled and revealed Stitch with his paw still in the ground where 6-2-7 had been. Stitch looked at the experiment from the corner of his eye, yanked his fist from the ground and slowly stood and turned toward him. 6-2-7 now had many more bleeding cuts on his body and a small amount trickled from his mouth and nose. Stitch was in similar condition but was slightly more winded than his opponent.

"So, how much more time do you have before that spell wears off?" asked 6-2-7 with a chuckle.

"Enough time for us to beat you." replied Stitch combatively.

"Good, good. Just so long as you don't wear yourselves out before I get to show you all my tricks." smiled 6-2-7.

"You can show us all you have and more, 6-2-7," blurted Lilo, "None of it will matter in the end, cause nothing you can do will stop us."

6-2-7 gave another small chuckle as he looked at the girl. "What I can do may not stop him," Vandercamp flipped to a page in the spell book, "But it most definitely will stop you!"

Without a moment of hesitation Vandercamp read off the spell: "Tele-Dioshi!"

6-2-7's eyes suddenly began to glow red and a strange aura began to form around his paws. The evil experiment then threw his arms into the air and a moment later the ground began to shake. Slowly, pieces of debris began to float into the air, engulfed by the same aura as 6-2-7's paws. Soon, larger and larger pieces began to float up, until finally the top half a building gently rose high into the air above 6-2-7's head. Lilo saw instantly what was about to happen.

"Victoria, get away from here." Instructed Lilo firmly as she watched the building rising into the air.

Victoria, who was still in a bit of shock, just looked up at the girl with a confused look on her face. Lilo saw this and quickly got the red head to her feet. "I said get away from here!" said Lilo with a little more force. But again the girl did not move. Lilo gave a frustrated grunt, gave her friend a decent shove and yelled: "Victoria, run!" The girl got the message and she quickly turned and ran down the street.

Lilo watched her friend turn a corner and then looked back toward 6-2-7. She slowly began to backup before she finally turned and ran. But she didn't run far before a piece of piping shot form the ground and coiled itself around her legs, immobilizing her.

"Let's see you save your precious friend from this, 6-2-6!" laughed 6-2-7 as he flung his arms forward and sent the building on a collision course with Lilo. The young girl watched with horror as the massive object hurdled toward her, its ominous shadow slowly growing around her. Stitch, however, sprung immediately to action, speeding over to his partner and standing between her and the building. The little experiment focused as much of his strength as he could, in preparation for the impact. The building was now all either of them could see and a second later Stitch caught the huge chunk of building, with surprisingly little difficulty. Then, with a strained growl, Stitch lifted the building over his head, smiling proudly as he did so.

But 6-2-7 was not about to let it be so easy. The evil experiment suddenly appeared in front of Stitch and let go a devastating punch straight to the blue experiment's face. The impact made him stumble backward s a little, but he still managed to keep the building from squashing his friend. 6-2-7 wasn't done yet though, he stepped up to Stitch and with vicious ferocity began pummeling Stitch's face with punch after punch. And with Lilo's life literally teetering in his paws he was helpless to dodge or block the assault.

"What's the matter, 6-2-6? Can't you fight back?" grinned the cone-headed experiment.

Down the road, Victoria timidly peeked around the corner and looked toward her friends. It took her a moment to realize what was going on and at first she wondered why Lilo was just sitting there. But she then saw the pipe wrapped around her friend's legs. She also saw the building rocking back and fourth dangerously as 6-2-7 continued to smash Stitch's face with his punches. She knew deep down what she should do, but she couldn't bring herself to move. Her friend's lives were in danger and yet she couldn't get up the nerve to help them. It wasn't the fact that she would have to run under a building being held up only by a small, furry creature. It was the fact that she would be near… him. She couldn't even look at 6-2-7 without seeing Snooty disappear over and over again in her mind. She couldn't imagine what being that close to him might cause her to feel.

Fear, that's what was holding her back. She was afraid of the monster they call 6-2-7. She had been afraid of him before the fight had even begun, but now that she had seen what his power could do, her fear had grown. Before she had been able to hide that fear behind the power that she wielded with Snooty at her side. She had pushed her fear away with the thought that she could fight back. But now that Snooty was gone, she had no power to wield and so she didn't stand a chance against him. Snooty had been her source of courage, his presence made her feel secure enough to take on challenges that no other would. But what was there to make her feel brave now? She now saw Lilo trying her hardest to pull herself free of the pipe, but it was wrapped too tight. Stitch was also still trying his hardest to keep the building aloft while he was beaten senseless by 6-2-7. The battle was still far from over.

Suddenly, it hit her. She was still a part of this fight, even if Snooty wasn't there she was. She could still do something; her fear was pointless. She didn't need Snooty to be brave; she had always been daring even before he arrived. And as for her safety, with Lilo and Stitch there she was as safe as she had always been. But the most important thing was that she could keep Snooty's struggle from being in vain. In that moment, Victoria's frightened and timid expression was wiped away by a confident and proud smile. The young red head wasted no time in running back up the street and to the aid of her friend.

"Victoria!" blurted Lilo in surprise as her friend knelt down beside her and began pulling on the pipe.

"That's my name." smiled the girl, "Now come on, let's get you out of here."

Lilo, awe-struck by her friend's sudden turn around, nodded and began yanking on the pipe again. It didn't budge at first, but slowly the combined strength of the two girls began to bend the pipe loose. In between his punches 6-2-7 noticed the two girls escape attempt. At first he thought nothing of it, but Lilo suddenly managed to free one of her legs and she was close to freeing the other. Afraid he would lose his advantage 6-2-7 clenched his teeth and cocked his fist back for one powerful punch.

"Don't think you can escape so easily, humans!" yelled 6-2-7 as he let go his punch.

Stitch was hit so hard across the cheek that he actually spun around in place. Unfortunately, this caused him to lose his balance and grip on the building and it began to topple down. Lilo managed to pull her leg free and quickly began to run with Victoria away from the falling building. As its shadow over took them it seemed they wouldn't escape, but just as it was about to crush them Lilo shoved Victoria and dove forward. A split second later the building crashed to the ground, crumbling into a million pieces. A moment or so later the dust in the air settled and Lilo and Victoria found themselves coated in it. Hey slowly got up to their feet and looked back toward the pile of rubble. It suddenly hit Lilo that Stitch had been underneath the building when it fell.

"Stitch! Stitch are you ok?" shouted Lilo concernedly.

There was no answer, but a small movement at the top of the pile caught her eye. She looked up hoping to see Stitch climbing out of the debris, but to her dismay it was 6-2-7 that crawled victoriously onto the top of the pile.

"Well he certainly held up for a good while, didn't he? grinned 6-2-7. "But it would appear that he has reached his limit. I must admit that you did a good job helping him get strong, girl."

"The name is Lilo," sneered the young Hawaiian. Just then a feeling deep in her gut told her to summon a spell. The message was as clear as day, so without question she summoned a spell. "And you have no idea how strong we are. Gigano-Punchito!"

6-2-7 was surprised by the girl's sudden outburst, but he was even more surprised by the rumbling beneath his feet. The moment he looked down to see what was going on Stitch's fist shot up through the debris and caught the evil experiment right under the chin. 6-2-7 was sent flying through the air before landing with a thud a few yards away. Lilo and Victoria both cheered happily as Stitch pulled him self up out of the wreckage. Stitch, needless to say, wasn't in the cheeriest of moods though. His head felt like it might fall off at any moment and the taste of blood filled his mouth. Even with his vision blurry he managed to spot 6-2-7 slowly getting up. He quickly realized the chance to deliver the final blow and so he shouted to Lilo: "Lilo, use the Gigano-Punchito one last time! Let's finish him off!"

Snapping back to her battle ready mind set, Lilo flipped open the book and read the spell aloud. Along with Lilo, Stitch focused as much power into his fist as he could until small stones began to scatter on the ground. Stitch then jumped down off the pile of debris and charged toward 6-2-7. The cone headed experiment was shocked to see his opponent still able to attack after such a beating.

"This is the end of the line, 6-2-7!" shouted Stitch as he cocked his fist back. "We win!"

6-2-7 had no time to evade the attack, so he braced himself the best he could. But it wasn't necessary, because just before Stitch's fist made contact the blue aura around him scattered and the energy pouring from his fist vanished. Stitch's fist hit 6-2-7's cheek with no more force than a small child's. At the same time Lilo feel to her knees with sudden exhaustion that was far worse than before. Her whole body felt like it was made of iron and it took all she had to keep from passing out. Her friend's sudden collapse startled Victoria, but she quickly knelt next to her to help. No one was rushing to Stitch's aid, though he deeply wished they would. His fist was now just resting on 6-2-7's cheek while the evil experiment looked down on him from the corner of his eye.

"Well, it would appear that your power has run out," grinned 6-2-7 before grabbing Stitch's wrist and twisting it painfully, "What a shame." 6-2-7 then drove his foot into Stitch's gut and sent him crashing through the pile of debris, bouncing to a stop in front of Lilo. "It really is too bad that spell of yours drains you so much. I really hoped our fun could have lasted longer. Though, I suppose I could let you regain your strength and then continue, but I'm afraid our fun must end here."

6-2-7 jumped high into the air and landed almost at the other side of the battlefield. Vandercamp quickly scampered over to him like some well-trained pet and opened up the crimson spell book. "I do have some sense of decency, 6-2-6. While I could easily defeat you in your depleted state with a low level spell, it wouldn't be the honorable thing to do. I know it sounds weird for the likes of me to speak of honor, but behavior aside I am a fighter just like you. And fighters of our caliber deserve to go out in a blaze of glory," 6-2-7 raised his paw toward the three friends and instantly a reddish-orange aura formed around it, "And so I shall defeat you with one of my strongest spells," the experiments arm suddenly began to bulge and an intense orange light appeared in his palm, "It was a pleasure to fight you, 6-2-6."

"And I hope you enjoyed your stay onboard my ship," added Vandercamp, "Dioga-Scikoruk!"

A massive, orange shock wave suddenly blasted from 6-2-7's paws, disintegrating everything around it. The blast flashed away and revealed a bullet of energy that tore up the ground and split the air. Neither Lilo, Stitch nor Victoria had any time to even breathe before the attack reached them. The powerful spell then erupted into a blast that vaporized every building in its way and tore through the decks like they were tissue paper. The entire ship rocked from the force of the blast, but then as quickly as it had come the blast faded into an expansive cloud of dust. 6-2-7 lowered his arm and began to laugh maniacally, taking in the sweet feeling of victory.

"Great, you've finally completed your mission," blurted Vandercamp, "Now how do you suppose I pay for the repairs to my beautiful ship?" shouted the man as he pointed to the disaster that was once his pride and joy.

6-2-7 continued to laugh and grin for a moment longer before looking over his shoulder toward the man. "That is none of my concern. Your ship was just a way for me to keep 6-2-6 right where I wanted him and force him into a conflict. I never intended on helping with any repairs. Besides with all your money you should have no trouble." Suddenly, all of 6-2-7's senses alerted him to someone's presence.

His eyes widened as he looked toward the still lingering cloud of dust, he could clearly feel that someone was lurking in the cloud. The experiments sudden alertness startled Vandercamp and made him look as well. "What is it? What do you sense?" asked the man.

6-2-7 was silent for a moment before saying: "It can't be, that's impossible."

At the same moment, just inside the settling dust, Lilo, Victoria, and Stitch were just realizing that they were still alive. They could barely see each other even being as close as they were, but they slowly began to notice some one or something standing in front of them. 6-2-7's eyes widened even further and his teeth clenched together as he began to make out an obscure figure in the dust. And then from out of nowhere a strong breeze blew away the dust and revealed none other than Angel, an unimpressed look on her face and her paw outstretched toward 6-2-7 with smoke rising up from it.

"What!" snapped 6-2-7 in utter shock.

"Angel." blurted the three friends in unison.

Just then the remaining dust settled and revealed that the three friends were on, more-or-less, a small island of metal with deep trenches torn into the deck around them. 'She deflected the blast around us with just one paw,' thought Lilo in complete amazement, 'But how?'

Stitch couldn't believe it himself: 'How could she have blocked an attack so powerful so easily?'

6-2-7 was also in disbelief. "It's not possible, how did she escape and how… how did she deflect my attack like that?"

"If that's one of your strongest spells then it's no big surprise," came Kioko's voice, "She's blocked much more powerful attacks than that before." smirked Kioko as he slowly walked out from a shattered building near by.

"There's no way," growled 6-2-7, "There's no way 6-2-4 is that strong!" 6-2-7 began sprinting toward his new opponent. "It's impossible!"

Then, in an instant, Angel vanished and then reappeared behind 6-2-7. The female's speed caused 6-2-7 to stop dead in his tracks, a moment later a sharp pain swept across the evil experiment's shoulder. Blood suddenly burst from his shoulder as if a saw blade had cut him.

"You have no idea how strong we really are." said Kioko as Angel rose up her paw to show her blood covered claws. 6-2-7 slowly began to look over his shoulder back toward Angel but before he could she disappeared again, this time reappearing right beside him. 6-2-7 turned to find himself staring into Angel's paw. "So don't go saying what's possible and impossible, got it? Now, your punishment for underestimating us," The black book at Kioko's side began to glow with it's eerie light, "Gigano-Toruk!"

6-2-7 was helpless as Angel fired the dark beam pointblank range into his face. The blast slammed into one of the few standing buildings and shattered it like glass. Angel smirked, lowered her paw and began walking back toward Stitch and his friends. The three of them were speechless as Angel and Kioko walked up to them. They couldn't believe Angel's strength and they couldn't believe the condition that Kioko was in. He was bloodied all over, the coat of his suit was gone, his under shirt was torn, and pieces of it were being used as bandages all over his body. The few cuts that Angel had, made it look like she had Kioko fighting against experiments.

"Well aren't you a mess," blurted Angel as she looked at Stitch's many wounds, "Don't you know how to dodge?"

Stitch gave a small growl. "Shut up."

"I never… thought I'd say this… but I'm glad you're here." said Lilo, still weak from the affects of their spell.

Kioko just smirked. "By the looks of it we got here just in time. You look like you've had quiet a battle." said Kioko as he looked around the shredded ship.

"We can say the same about you," said Victoria, "What happened down there?"

Kioko and Angel glanced at each other and then back at the three friends. "Let's just say that we had a few close calls." said Angel as she held her paw against the cut on her side.

"A few?" questioned Lilo with a raised eyebrow.

"Ok, maybe a little more than a few," said Kioko with a sigh, "but that doesn't matter right now. What you need to concern yourselves with is getting off of this ship."

Lilo gave a small laugh as she tried to use Victoria's leg to pull herself up. "We'll leave this ship as soon as we beat 6-2-7."

"Yeah, we're not done fighting yet." added Stitch as he started to get up to his feet.

Before he could get up Angel drove her foot into his chest and forced him back to the ground. Stitch winced in pain as the female experiment held him pinned. "You intend to fight in your condition? Do you want to lose?" said Angel as she lifted her foot off of him. "You know as well as I that you are in no shape to fight."

Stitch just gave a rebellious growl as he stared up at Angel. "She's right," blurted Kioko, "None of you are in any condition to put up a serious fight." Lilo raised her hand and opened her mouth to speak but Kioko stopped her. "I can see that your group is one member short, I assume this means that the bat's book was burned."

Angered by hearing her partner spoken about in such a way, Victoria got to her feet and got right in Kioko's face. "His name was Snooty! And he fought harder than you could ever imagine! Leaving now would only admit defeat and I'm not about to let my friends sacrifice go in vain like that! So if you think we're going to just up and leave because you two showed up, you're fucking crazy!"

Kioko and Victoria stared each other down for a few moments, with not a sound made by either of them or anyone else. "Your friends sacrifice will still be in vain if you die here," Kioko said finally, "Victory is not always what you think it is. Even if you beat 6-2-7, it won't mean anything in the world if you die doing it. Think of all the people you'd be leaving behind, and all the opportunities you'd be missing out on. I think your friend, Snooty, would prefer to see you live on than die in battle."

"And if you can't accept the idea of running away," added Angel, "Don't think of it as running away, think of it as living to fight another day."

The three friends slowly began to look around at each other. They seemed to agree that there was truth to what the boy had just said. Even Stitch, who absolutely hated the thought of not finishing a fight, couldn't deny it. But could they really just leave? After all they've been through, could they just turn tail and run? If they were going to survive to see their families again… they had to. Finally, with one last look around to each other they reluctantly decided to follow Kioko's advise.

"This goes against everything my gut tells me," blurted Lilo, "But I guess if I were to get myself killed out here… Nani would be furious."

Kioko smiled. "There should still be one or two transport ships left in that dock we boarded the ship from. You guys can take one of them. I'm sure you can figure out on your own how to run it."

"But how do you expect us to find our way back?" asked Stitch.

"I'm sure there is a GPS unit on board." answered Kioko.

"And I suggest you all get moving, quickly," said Angel as she glanced toward the building 6-2-7 was blasted into, "He's beginning to recover from that blast."

All three of them nodded and began getting up. Victoria helped Lilo to her feet while Angel did the same for Stitch. But unlike his partner, Stitch could stand on his own. The two experiments looked each other right in the eye for a moment, a moment that seemed to last for quite awhile. And in that moment Stitch felt something that he never would of imagined, he actually felt concerned for Angel. He didn't know why though, perhaps it was because he knew what she would be fighting. But why was he concerned for her after all the things she had done to him. She'd betrayed him, beat him up twice and was always making him feel inferior. So then why?

He didn't have much time to dwell on his thoughts, for Lilo and Victoria were already making their way toward the front of the ship. "Come on, Stitch, let's go!" yelled Victoria.

"Coming," replied Stitch, but before he followed he looked back to Angel and after a short pause said, "You better win."

Angel just smirked as she watched him turn and chase off after Lilo and Victoria. She was actually very much surprised at how well he had held up, despite his countless injuries. Seeing him able to walk away that easily made her feel a bit better about the upcoming fight, Kioko felt the same. All of a sudden, a large piece of concrete was thrown aside, revealing a very angry 6-2-7. The three friends stopped dead in their tracks as the evil experiment stared right at them.

"You're not leaving are you, 6-2-6?" the crimson experiment raised his paw right toward the small group. "I won't let you leave!"

6-2-7's paw began to glow with that all too familiar red energy as Vandercamp read off the "Gigano-Koruk" spell. Stitch instantly placed himself between 6-2-7 and the girls, ready to block the attack. But just as 6-2-7 was about to launch the attack, Angel appeared before him, grabbed his wrist and raised his paw straight into the air, allowing the red beam to fire harmlessly into the sky. 6-2-7, who was once again surprised by her speed, was even more surprised by what she did next. The pink experiment extended her claws on her free paw and cocked her arm back as if to slash him. Black and purple energies began to flow from her claws as the black book began to low.

Kioko cracked a grin and chuckled. "Karuga-Getsu." said Kioko casually.

With a swift swipe of her paw, Angel drove a massive crescent shaped blade of black energy into 6-2-7's gut, smashing him back into the pile of rubble. The three friends were once again amazed by Kioko and Angel's strength. The female experiment then looked over her shoulder at the three and ordered them to keep moving, as she herself zipped back to Kioko's side in the blink of an eye.

"Well, you ready for this?" asked Kioko as he and Angel watched the three friends disappear around a pile of debris.

"As ready as I can be. You?"

"The same goes for me. But let's just hope my body can stay in one piece long enough to finish this."

"It shouldn't take too long. Looking at the damage around here and having been so close to 6-2-7, I'd say Stitch and his group managed to drain him of a good chunk of his power. Even in your battered state, we still have more power at our disposal than he does." explained Angel in a very analytical tone of voice.

"Well we're about to find out if your theory is right." said Kioko with a glance toward 6-2-7's rubble pile.

A moment later, 6-2-7 once again burst out into the open, now even more ticked off than before. Angel quickly moved herself out in front of the experiment in order to draw any attacks away from her partner, yet kept her reflexes sharp just in case.

"You two are more foolish than I could have imagined!" snapped 6-2-7 as he clenched his fist in rage, "What are you thinking, taking on an experiment like myself all on your own? You don't have any idea who you're messing with!"

"I can see we're messing with a loud mouth." smirked Angel.

"I am the most powerful experiment Jumba ever created," growled 6-2-7, "I have the powers of 20 different experiments."

"Good, glad to hear it," said Kioko, "After all the things we've heard about you, it'd be upsetting to find out that you were a push over."

6-2-7 glared at Kioko. "Now if you're so powerful, stop standing around and attack." blurted Angel impatiently.

The evil experiment turned his gaze toward her and chuckled villainously. "You want me to attack? Very well then, I'll gladly oblige!"

In a flash, 6-2-7 charged straight for Angel. He was upon her in an instant; he cocked his fist back and let it fly right toward her. But just before it connected Angel grabbed hold of his wrist, went low, and rammed her elbow into his gut. The breathe was knocked clean out of the evil experiment, and he had no time to regain it, as Angel flipped him over her shoulder and caught him in mid air with a kick. 6-2-7 was sent skipping across the ground until he collided with a fire hydrant, causing a geyser of water to shoot up into the air.

Angel smirked as she watched the experiment get drenched by the water. "The most powerful experiment ever created? I doubt it."

**Well that's the end of this chapter! I was planning to make this the last chapter, but it was getting way too long. So the next chapter will be the final chapter of this story. Please Review!**


	14. The Final Attack

The Tejina Chronicles: Ambush on the High Seas

By: Kioko the pirate

Chapter 14: The Final Attack!

Slowly 6-2-7 began to get to his feet, water still pouring down on his head. He looked back toward Angel with an evil little grin and began to crack his knuckles. "You're just like 6-2-6, you're so confident of your victory, and you think of yourself as unbeatable," 6-2-7 suddenly launched himself at the female experiment, "and just like him you will soon learn you are far from unbeatable!"

The evil experiment threw another punch but to his amazement she caught it with minimal difficulty. Then, before he could react, she drove her knee into his stomach, knocking him down to his knees. "The same goes for you, 6-2-7." said Angel before kicking him across the face.

6-2-7 once again skidded across the ground until he smacked into a slab of concrete. Unlike Stitch, who would use this opportunity to get in a few extra shot's, Angel casually placed her paws on her hips and stood her ground. She had learned from Kioko that allowing your opponent to attack gave one many more options in how to counter or block the attack. 6-2-7 allowed this to be demonstrated perfectly as he blasted a red beam straight for the female. But because of her distance Angel had plenty of time to counter, which she did by firing a "Darkoten" spell. The large black orb slammed into the beam and stopped it in its tracks. A second later the two spells exploded, creating what 6-2-7 believed to be the perfect smoke screen.

The evil experiment appeared behind Angel, who appeared to be oblivious to his movements, and stabbed toward her head with his claws. But Angel cocked her head to the side, evading the attack. She then followed through by spinning around and clocking 6-2-7 in the cheek with a kick. But that wasn't all; placing her paw on his chest Angel fired another "Darkoten" spell pointblank into 6-2-7. The spell carried 6-2-7 across the field into a pile of rubble, which collapsed soon after. The battlefield became quiet, the only sound being that of the ocean far below. However, the quiet didn't last long as a large chunk of concrete was hurdled from the pile straight toward Angel. But as casual as ever, the pink experiment merely sidestepped the large slab and allowed it to crash into the building behind her. 6-2-7, who had been hoping the concrete would act as a distraction, flew out from the pile and immediately began to punch viciously at Angel.

His attacks were to no avail; Angel dodged all of them with ease. He was beginning to get frustrated by how much power he had lost since the beginning of this fight. If he were at full strength he wouldn't be having this much trouble with one little experiment. Suddenly, Angel grabbed hold of one of his fists and flipped him over her head. Expecting to be hit again, 6-2-7 flipped over in mid air and landed quickly, returning to his barrage of punches before she could retaliate.

"You and Stitch are a lot alike, you know." blurted Angel as she continued to evade his blows.

"How so?" asked 6-2-7 as he stabbed at her with his paw.

The pink experiment caught 6-2-7 by the wrist and twisted it. "Your both too angular in your attacks," Angel, in the blink of an eye, delivered a punch to 6-2-7's gut that sent him sliding backward a few yards, "You'll never beat me if you attack in such a straight forward manor. You need to spice things up."

The pink experiment ran toward 6-2-7 and just before she reached him she went into a handstand and began spinning around like a top, delivering kick after kick to 6-2-7's face. Her speed increased as she balanced herself on the tips of just one paw. After a few moments Angel flipped up out of the unorthodox attack and, to her surprise, was greeted by 6-2-7's flaming claws. She quickly fell backwards toward the ground, landing on all fours, facing up as a swipe from 6-2-7's claws sent flaming blades flying just inches above her. Kioko had to quickly leap out of the way as the blades smashed into the ground at his feet. At the same time Angel flipped backward on to her hands, catching 6-2-7 under the chin with her foot in the process. She jumped back onto her feet and then rushed forward, delivering another powerful kick to 6-2-7's gut. The cone headed experiment was sent flying, ricocheting off of a few buildings before crashing to the street.

Vandercamp, who was hunkered down in a distant corner of the battlefield, could barely believe his eyes. The ease in which this experiment 6-2-4 was beating 6-2-7 was amazing. Even if he had lost a lot of power fighting 6-2-6 and the bat, there was no way the multi-billionaire could have imagined that the crimson experiment could get creamed so easily. However, there was a part of Vandercamp that rather enjoyed seeing his unwanted partner getting clobbered.

'After all of his big talk about how powerful he is, it's fun to see him get knocked off of his high horse,' thought Vandercamp as he watched the dust settle around where 6-2-7 had slammed into the ground, 'It serves him right for messing up my grand plans. All I wanted was to have some high brass general or world leader come aboard my ship, find the technology enticing, and would offer to buy it. From there I could make a killing off of government contracts as well as those in the private sector. Then, soon after, I could construct my global empire by putting green technologies in every home. It'd be the biggest market since the computer!'

Vandercamp clenched his fist tight around the red book that sat open and ready in his hands. 'But no, that little monster just had to come along and bend my plans to his desires. God, he thought he was all high and mighty from the beginning. Beating up my security detail and then black mailing me into his plans, he acted like he owned me. I feel half tempted to just hand his book over to that boy and 6-2-4. But luckily for him, I just can't willingly give up such power.'

A sudden gut feeling brought Vandercamp out of his thoughts and ordered him to read off a spell. The man flipped over a few pages in the book and read out loud: "Dion-Fuerga!"

The remains of the cloud instantly parted and a massive dragon shaped stream of fire shot down the street toward Angel. The spell caught Angel off guard but she managed to raise a paw to block the attack. A second later the spell slammed into her awaiting paw and to her surprise it began to push her slowly backwards. She dug her toes into the ground as hard as she could and then with a small growl she slashed her claws upward, dissipating the spell. But as soon as she did, 6-2-7 appeared in front of her and stabbed at her once more with his black claws. Caught off guard again she barely managed to dodge the potentially fatal blow by leaning away from it. She leapt back away from the evil experiment and readied for his next attack. 6-2-7, though, didn't move, he merely faced her and then smirked. She began to wonder what he was up to when a sudden sharp pain tore through her shoulder, making her wince.

A moment later blood began to pour from a deep cut located at the same spot in which she had cut him at the start of the battle. "Well at least now I can see that the mighty 6-2-4 can be wounded. What's the matter couldn't quite dodge that one?"

"Don't talk like you've just won the fight," smiled Angel, "You've hit me once, that's hardly a reason to act victorious."

"Oh I know it isn't," said 6-2-7 with a small shrug, "I'm not that arrogant."

"So then why use that tone?"

"I use that tone because me landing a hit on you means that I'm getting used to your moves. Now you may call my attacks predictable, but your defenses are just as predictable and in battle that can be far more costly!"

Just then, 6-2-7 charged toward Angel and let a punch fly at her face. Again, though, Angel leaned out of the way and avoided his punch. Unfortunately, she leaned right into his other fist, it was a close call but she managed to catch it. But as he had said, 6-2-7 was picking up on her movements and so he used his free paw to grab onto Angel's wrist, lift her into the air and fling her across the street. The pink experiment slammed back first into the last remaining wall of a building, which proceeded to collapse around her. Fortunately, she wasn't buried beneath it and quickly got back on her feet and turned back toward 6-2-7. But the crimson experiment vanished and then reappeared right in front of her, his fist cocked back. Angel managed to leap aside as the monsters punch obliterated the ground where she had stood.

But then, just as her feet touched down 6-2-7 appeared behind her, another punch ready and waiting. Though surprised by her opponent's sudden burst of speed she still managed to back flip into the air and evade the attack. But as she began to drop down behind the evil experiment, 6-2-7 whipped around with a sinister grin and kicked Angel square in the jaw. The female experiment shot upwards and slammed into the upper floors of a building that was leaning heavily to one side. 6-2-7 let out a pleased chuckle as he watched smoke pour from the building.

"This is it, now that I'm starting to get used to her movements… your fight is over, boy," smiled 6-2-7, "How does it feel to know that your precious 6-2-4 is about to be crushed?" asked the experiment as he turned to look at Kioko, but to his surprise Kioko did not look worried at all. Instead, he had a confident smirk on his face as he looked up into the building.

The boy then let out a small laugh as he glanced back down at 6-2-7. "You haven't gotten used to everything yet. You still haven't grasped how foolish it is to let your guard down when fighting her."

"What?" asked 6-2-7 when suddenly Angel appeared before him with her back facing toward him. In the next instant Angel drove her elbow into 6-2-7's chin sending him rising into the air; she then turned around and drove her foot into his chin as well. 6-2-7 was sent soaring straight into the air as Angel raised her paw up toward him.

"Umbrugar." said Kioko casually.

A moment later the ground began to shack and dark, whip-like tentacles shot up toward 6-2-7. He managed to regain awareness just as the tentacles wrapped themselves around his arms, legs, and torso. At the same time tentacles rose up from below Vandercamp and wrapped themselves tightly around his limbs and mouth, disabling his ability to cast spells. The tentacles held 6-2-7 high in the air as he continued to try and break free of their grasp, they even lifted Vandercamp a few feet into the air. Then, with a swift motion, Angel slammed her paw to the ground. It was like a trigger had been pulled; the tentacles began to retract into the ground with amazing speed. Vandercamp was slammed like a rag doll into the hard concrete while 6-2-7 was slammed into the ground with brutal force. The ground buckled and disintegrated around where 6-2-7 had been slammed, Angel even had to leap back a ways to keep from falling in.

At the speed in which 6-2-7 had been slammed his survival seemed impossible. But after only a minute the evil experiment leapt up from the crater, bloodied and seething. With a vicious bark 6-2-7 called for Vandercamp. The battle weary man slowly got up and flipped open the spell book.

"Gigano Suna-Yashi!" the man yelled as the book began to glow.

With a toothy grin 6-2-7 lifted both of his arms into the air. Not knowing what her opponents was up to Angel lowered herself and got ready for his attack. But keeping her eyes one 6-2-7, she didn't notice several columns of water rise up from the ocean below and gather above her head.

"Angel, above you!" warned Kioko as the water began to spiral into a disc.

Angel looked up just in time to see a shower of needle-like raindrops falling down toward her. With amazing speed and precision she began to smack away the needles as they pierced the ground around her. Unfortunately, she wasn't the only one in harms way. Kioko had to dive under a piece of debris as the deadly rainstorm fell around him. But the needles turned out to be sharper than expected and a few needles pierced his cover and stabbed into his shoulders. He quickly hunched over and held the book tight to his chest as the needles continued to pierce through his defense and now stabbed into his back. Angel was having just as bad a time as the needles cut and pierced her arms. Blood began to drip from her arms onto her face as she continued to deflect the lethal projectiles. All of a sudden, the disc of water vanished and so did the needles. Angel lowered her arms to inspect her injuries and was immediately punched in the stomach by 6-2-7, who had appeared out of nowhere. The breath was knocked right out of her as she flew down the street toward Kioko.

But before she impacted anything, 6-2-7 appeared in her path and smashed the back of his fist into her cheek. The stunned experiment crashed violently through the remains of several buildings before becoming lodged in the outer wall of the ship. A worried look now began to inch its way onto Kioko's face as he watched 6-2-7 rocket toward his partner, ready to deliver another devastating blow. But the little, pink experiment proved to be tougher than expected and smashed her own fist into 6-2-7's face just before he made contact. 6-2-7 was sent hurtling back toward the ground and then slammed into the street. He quickly recovered though, flipping up onto his feet as he slid to a stop. He was shocked, however, when Angel materialized in front of him and drove her fist into his cheek.

This time it was Angel who was a bit ticked off and 6-2-7 quickly found out what an angry female experiments fury felt like. Angel continued to deliver blow after blow to 6-2-7's face, sending spit and blood everywhere as she rearranged his face. At this point Kioko actually felt a little sympathy for 6-2-7, knowing the exact reason why Angel was so peeved. She despised getting hit in the gut. He didn't know exactly why, but his guess was that it had something to do with her chances of becoming a mother. Whether that was the answer or not it didn't matter, all that was important was to remember never to hit her there. At this point 6-2-7 probably would have liked to have known that before hand. He couldn't tell up from down he was so dazed from her savage blows. Then, when he thought things couldn't get worse, Angel flipped onto her hands and drove her foot into his chin with bone shattering force. Angel then flipped back over and raised her paw toward 6-2-7 as he rose up into the air.

Kioko instantly picked up on what she wanted to do and summoned the spell. A split second later 6-2-7 was engulfed in the darkness of the "Gigano-Toruk" spell. An explosion that nearly knocked Kioko and Vandercamp on their butts soon followed the blast. And a few moments later 6-2-7 fell to the ground like a smoldering comet right near his partner. Angel lowered her arm and dropped her shoulders as she tried to calm herself. Feeling exhausted after her furious attack she even sat down on a small piece of rubble.

"Well, you really let him have it didn't you?" laughed Kioko.

Angel looked over her shoulder and in a rapid change of emotion smiled pleasantly. "Well you know how about getting hit like that."

"Yup." agreed Kioko with a smile.

Meanwhile, Vandercamp slowly made his way over to the crater that contained his partner. He peered in and found a seemingly lifeless 6-2-7. The experiment was bleeding all over and an excruciating expression sat on his face. But Vandercamp knew that it wasn't over; the book had not burst into flame nor had it been burned. So he just stood there waiting for the cone-headed experiment to come around. And sure enough, a moment later 6-2-7 began to stir, raising his paw to his forehead and rubbing it slowly. Then, he sat up and looked around confusedly for a moment before looking up at Vandercamp.

"The beast just got his clock cleaned by the beauty," smirked Vandercamp, "Tell me, did your genius plan involve getting beat up by a little pink girl?"

"Shut up," snarled 6-2-7 as he got up onto his feet, "I think it's time we change up our strategy."

"Strategy, we had a strategy? It looked to me like you were just throwing punches everywhere."

"I said shut up! Now, it's obvious that in my weakened state I don't stand a chance against 6-2-4's hand-to-hand abilities or the strength of her spells."

"So what do you propose we do?" asked Vandercamp.

6-2-7 looked over his shoulder at Angel who was now getting back on her feet. "We take her advice and stop attacking head on. We'll use some of our more tricky spells." said 6-2-7 with a toothy grin.

Angel was now back on her feet and ready to continue the fight. She knew, just like Vandercamp did, that the fight was far from over even before 6-2-7 had hit the ground. She now watched carefully as 6-2-7 climbed up out of his crater and up onto a pile of bricks. But instead of moving to attack the evil experiment let out a small chuckle.

"Well, I must say that I' am surprised by just how tough a fight you have put up, 6-2-4," smiled 6-2-7 devilishly, "I didn't expect so much power from a female. But I guess I shouldn't have expected anything less, given your reputation."

"What are you getting at, 6-2-7?" asked Angel.

"I'm not getting at anything, I'm just trying to say that you're not the only one here with a reputation," smirked 6-2-7 as Vandercamp opened up the spell book, "I myself am known for using unfair tactics in order to win."

Just then Vandercamp read out the spell: "Gigano-Numerido!" 6-2-7 suddenly began to glow with crimson light and a moment later hundreds of small orbs began shooting out from his body. Both Kioko and Angel got a bad feeling when the orbs started hovering over different spots around 6-2-7. Then, to their horror the orbs began to take the shape of 6-2-7 him self and soon the two of them were facing hundreds of 6-2-7's, each of them grinning menacingly. Angel's jaw dropped as she looked around at them all, she had never seen such a spell before. It quickly became obvious to Kioko that this wasn't going to end well. They had never taken on so many opponents at once. Just then a thought hit him; what if all of those copies were merely illusions? Non-tangible, figures that were created in order to frighten the opponent into surrender. Unfortunately, Kioko's theory was thrown out the window when all of the 6-2-7's raised their paws toward Angel and began charging their spells.

"What? They can all use spells too?" blurted Angel in disbelief.

The original 6-2-7 gave a small laugh. "This is another of my most powerful spells, 6-2-4. Each one of them has the same strength as me and each of them can use spells. Luckily for you, however, they can't each use different spells. So we're all stuck using the same thing. But then again, maybe that's unfortunate for you."

"Gigano-Koruk!" summoned Vandercamp as the red book shined brilliantly.

Angel's ears fell as she watched all of the clones fire their crimson beams right toward her, merging halfway into one massive beam. She had no idea what to do as the gigantic spell ate up the world around her, and it seemed that she was defeated as the monstrous beam slammed into the ground, obliterating everything in its path. Kioko was sent flying backwards as the spells tore through the outer wall of the ship and slammed into the ocean below. The boy slammed down onto the ground and rolled a few yards before coming to a stop. Knowing what danger he was in he quickly managed to get to his feet. When he got up he found a quarter of the ship gone, vaporized by the combined power of the 6-2-7's. He suddenly realized that the book was gone and frantically began looking around for it. He soon found it laying just a few feet away, still intact. Kioko hurriedly scooped up the book and looked back toward the massive column of smoke that rose up from the ship.

All seemed still for a moment before a sudden movement caught his eye, along with the eyes of the 6-2-7's. A second later Angel leapt out from the smoke and gracefully landed a few feet away. Her fur was now scorched and blood ran down her face from a wound on her forehead.

"Well, now that was impressive," exclaimed 6-2-7, "But let's see how you handle this!"

Just then all of the clones leapt from their spots and headed right for Angel. In the blink of an eye she was surrounded and dodging punches, kicks and claws swipes from all directions. But it didn't take long before their numbers overwhelmed her. As she leapt into the air to avoid a punch from one 6-2-7 and a swipe from another, a 6-2-7 kicked her in the back and sent her smashing into the fists of two more 6-2-7's. She punched two of the attackers away but was immediately caught under the chin by an uppercut. Kioko felt terribly helpless as he watched his precious partner get kicked and punched around, but there was nothing he could do. There was no time for her to use a spell and if he tried to draw off their attacks the book would most certainly be destroyed. It was times like these that made him wish that he could use the spells in the book. If only he had the power she did he could help her and kick 6-2-7's ass. But he was powerless, and it was now up to Angel to get herself out of this mess.

Angel was well aware of this and even as she was being pummeled she was thinking up a plan. There was no way she was going to beat each of the clones, so she had to figure out a way to take them out in large numbers if not all at once.

'If I can manage to get a little distance on these guys, I'd have time to use the "Gigano-Toruk" on them. That would stun them long enough to come up with a better idea.' thought Angel as she was punched across the face. Suddenly, she noticed something, the original 6-2-7 hadn't moved from his spot on the bricks. Then it hit her, the key to defeating this spell. 'He's the energy source for the clones! If he were to break his focus the clones would disappear, that's why he isn't fighting!'

Angel was now back on the ground and was being bounced around like a punching bag. Then, one clone caught her right in the nose with a punch and sent her flying back into the arms of two awaiting 6-2-7's. The two clones grabbed onto her arms and kept her from moving, as two more clones got ready to charge her.

"I must break his focus," said Angel in a hushed voice, "that is my goal."

The two clones both cocked back their claws and charged toward the pink experiment, both ready to impale her. But just as they were about to attack, Angel lifted her legs and kicked toward the ground, sending the two 6-2-7's that were holding her flying toward her attackers. The four 6-2-7's collided and then scattered into the crowd of clones, distracting them long enough for Angel to escape. In a flash she vanished from the center of the crowd and reappeared just outside of it. She quickly spotted the original 6-2-7 and charged toward him. The clones quickly realized that she had escaped and chased after her. Two clones appeared in front of her, but she blew by them with no problem. A few more leapt up above her and attempted to attack, but a quick zigzag maneuver evaded them. She was now right at the bottom of the brick pile on which 6-2-7 stood calmly. Angel leapt up toward him and cocked her fist back for a punch.

"Shiranisu." read Vandercamp as he watched 6-2-4 throw her punch.

To her surprise 6-2-7 did nothing to defend him self from her attack and her punch smashed right into his cheek. 6-2-7 was sent flying toward a building as Angel took his spot at the top of the brick pile. She couldn't understand why he hadn't tried to protect himself, then just as 6-2-7 was about to smash into the building his body shattered into a million pieces. Her jaw dropped once more as she suddenly got the feeling that she had been tricked. And sure enough 6-2-7 suddenly appeared behind her with a sinister grin on his face and his claws raised above his head.

"My illusionary technique, Shiranisu." said 6-2-7 smoothly as he brought his claws down across Angel's back.

The pink experiment's eye widened in a silent scream as 6-2-7's claws cut deep into her. It all seemed to happen in slow motion as, out of the corner of her eye, she saw blood fly into the air. She knew it to be hers. Time seemed to slow down even for Kioko as he saw her get sliced almost wide open. But it wasn't over yet, as Angel began to fall forward 6-2-7 grabbed her by the shoulder spun her around and then back handed her across the face. Now critically wounded, Angel slammed face first into the concrete just a few yards from Kioko. However 6-2-7, anxious to destroy her, leapt toward her with his claws cocked back once again.

"You had doubts about my power," shouted 6-2-7 viciously as he drew closer to his helpless prey, "Do you doubt it now, 6-2-4? Do you?"

With that 6-2-7 threw his claws forward, aiming right for Angel's head. But just before they made contact, just before they ended her life, Kioko grabbed 6-2-7's wrist, startling the experiment as his attack was stopped cold by a mere human.

"Shut up." said Kioko in a deep, cold tone before driving his fist right into 6-2-7's cheek.

In his weakened state even Kioko's punch sent 6-2-7 flying a few feet. But it didn't stun the experiment and so 6-2-7 flipped over in mid-air and slid to a stop. But the hit was strong enough to break his clone spell and the army of 6-2-7's vanished in a flash of light. He couldn't believe what had just happened, a human had struck him! And if that wasn't humiliating enough, he had stopped right underneath the torrent of water pouring from the hydrant he had crashed into earlier. At the same time Kioko frantically looked over his partner's injuries. He couldn't tell if she was conscious or not, but she was breathing, that was the good news. The bad news was that she had four long; deep slashes across her back that bled heavily. Thinking quickly, Kioko took off the remains of his under shirt and tied it tightly around her torso. The white shirt quickly became red and so did Kioko's anger. The boy whipped around toward 6-2-7 with a look that would have scared the devil.

"You're going to pay for that," sneered Kioko, "You're going to regret ever laying a finger on her."

"And how do you expect to make me pay? Are you going to fight me?" smirked 6-2-7, "Besides it is you who will pay. How dare you, a worthless human, strike me!"

"I'll strike you a million times over if you come near Angel again."

"We'll just see about that!" snapped 6-2-7 as he charged toward the boy.

Kioko knew that physically he was no match for the experiment. He needed something to even the odds, at least even it up long enough for him to get Angel away from there. 6-2-7 was now almost right on top of them, his fist was cocked back and ready to strike. Suddenly, Kioko got an idea and just in time too as 6-2-7 threw his punch straight for the boy. Kioko quickly grabbed an electric cable that had been exposed during the fight and drove it into the evil experiment's fist. There was a bright flash as thousands of volts of electricity coursed through 6-2-7's body, causing him to cry out in pain. Kioko just smirked, the experiments soaking wet body and his proximity to the ground turned 6-2-7 into a living lighting rod.

Vandercamp gasped in total astonishment as a small explosion sent the experiment flying back a few yards, stunned and smoldering. Not knowing how long it would take 6-2-7 to recover, Kioko quickly scooped Angel up into his arms. He held her back tight against his chest, to help slow the bleeding, as he ran. He stopped only once to pick up the spell book that he had dropped when he stopped 6-2-7's attack, but then kept on running. The pain in his own body faded away as adrenaline coursed through his veins. His only thought was to get away and find someplace where Angel could rest. He wasn't running for his own life, he was running for hers. Kioko knew that the book would self-destruct if she got too close to death, but that didn't make him feel any better. He couldn't let it end this way!

Suddenly, a small movement caught his attention. He looked down to find Angel slowly regaining consciousness. After a moment she began to look around; dazed and confused she couldn't tell just what exactly was going on. She finally looked up to see Kioko, who glanced down at her with a semi-relieved smile. Just then she realized that his shirt was wrapped around her torso and the memories of what had just happened snapped back to her. She quickly became aware of the deep gashes on her back and let out a weak yelp of pain.

"Don't think about your injuries," she heard Kioko say, "If you don't think about them they won't hurt as much."

Angel looked up toward her partner and saw something that shocked her. Kioko had tears running down his face. It didn't look like he noticed them but they were as clear as day. Glistening beads upon his dusty face, one rolled down his cheek and fell from his chin, landing in the middle of her forehead.

She began to speak in a quiet voice, finding it hard to speak. "Kioko… are you…"

But before she could finish her question Kioko looked own at her and said: "Please, don't speak. You need to save as much of your strength as you can."

Angel stared at her partner for a moment and then opened her mouth to speak once more, but before she could utter a word the ground began to rumble ominously. Then, all of a sudden, two buildings, surrounded by a red aura, began to slide out into the middle of the street ahead of them. Kioko skidded to a halt as the two buildings came together to form a massive wall. At the same time the other buildings around them slid together, giving Kioko and Angel nowhere to run.

"Did you really think you could escape?" echoed a sinister voice from behind.

Kioko turned around to find 6-2-7 standing with Vandercamp just a short distance away, a toothy grin on each of their faces. "That was quite the underhanded trick you pulled, boy," said 6-2-7, "I was rather impressed."

"I'm glad you liked it." said Kioko sarcastically.

"Yes, it's just too bad that it only bought you a small amount of time to live," 6-2-7 raised his paw toward the two partners as Vandercamp opened the spell book, "Now I must say goodbye to the both of you. You've been quite the little action hero, boy. Fighting your way down into this heavily guarded ship and rescuing your friend. But I'm afraid there is no way out now and your death is assured."

Red energy began to form in front of 6-2-7's paw as the red spell book began to glow. "Oh and 6-2-4," blurted 6-2-7, "you've been a wonderful opponent, just full of surprises. But you can forget about fighting ever again, this blast will kill you before your book burns. Now, goodbye."

"Gigano-Koruk!"

Kioko clenched his teeth as the crimson beam shot forth from 6-2-7's paw. There was nothing stopping it this time; Angel couldn't block it and he couldn't move out of the way. It seemed like this was the end, their last stand and their last time together. But then, as the beam grew closer and closer, Kioko realized just what he was doing. He was giving up, he was surrendering to defeat. He was about to throw away his second chance, he was about to lose Michelle all over again, and he was breaking his promise to Angel.

'What a foolish thing to do,' he thought as the heat from the spell began to burn his skin, 'Am I really that weak? No, I'm not that weak, I'm just being ridiculous. As long as I can still breathe this fight is far from over! I'm not going to let it end like this!'

It was then that Kioko quickly turned his back toward the attack, shielding his precious Angel from the blast. A moment later the crimson beam slammed into his bare back, nearly knocking him to the ground. The spell sent waves of unimaginable pain rushing through his body, causing him to yell out in pain. It seemed to last an eternity, the searing energy washing over him like the fires of hell. But finally the spell faded away, leaving behind the incredible pain and the stunned expression of all those around. 6-2-7 and Vandercamp's eyes and mouths were wide open as they watched the smoke rise from Kioko's back. Angel, still held tight against his chest and completely unharmed, couldn't believe her eyes. It had to be a dream, there was no way her partner could have taken a direct hit from a spell that strong and still be alive, let alone be standing.

But Kioko's strength didn't last long; he collapsed to his knees and then fell forward. He managed to put one handout to break his fall and to keep him self from falling on Angel, but he lost his grip and she fell a few inches to the ground. She rolled over slowly and looked up at her partner, his face was contorted with pain and tears continued to roll down his face. All was silent save for Kioko's labored breathing; even 6-2-7 and Vandercamp remained speechless. Finally, Kioko's lips began to move as though he was saying something but no words came out. Then, just barely loud enough for Angel to hear he spoke: "I'm sorry… Angel."

Without another sound Kioko fell to the ground next to Angel, unconscious and on the verge of death. "Kioko," cried Angel as she painfully got up to her knees and shook Kioko by the shoulder, "Wake up, Kioko, wake up!"

It was then that she noticed her partner's horrific injury. Kioko's back looked like someone had tried to skin him with a blowtorch. There wasn't a piece of skin left and bone was just beginning to become visible, it was most certainly a fatal wound. The smell made her sick to the stomach, forcing her to hold one paw over her nose. Tears like waterfalls began to pour down her face and sobs began to escape her. Her own wounds and the loss of blood started making her feel dizzy and yet she remained at Kioko's side. Then, a voice rang out that enraged her beyond anything she had ever felt.

"What an honorable way to go," blurted 6-2-7, "But so very foolish. He sacrificed his own body for a creature that would have eventually left him behind anyway. Stupid human."

Angel clenched her fists and teeth and with what little strength she had left, she slowly and shakily got up to her feet. "Shut up." growled Angel between sobs as she watched Kioko's breathing begin to slow.

"Imagine, if he had only let things alone when we captured you, he wouldn't be knocking on deaths door." smirked 6-2-7.

"Shut up." repeated Angel in a slightly louder voice.

"It's all because of you. You're the reason he is about to die. Isn't that right?" shouted 6-2-7 with a toothy grin.

"Shut up!" screamed Angel finally looking toward 6-2-7 with a venomous glare. "I am not the reason he is injured! It's because of you! You're the one who hurt him! And I'm going to make sure you pay for it!"

"He said that same thing to me when I sliced you open and look where he is now. Despite your strength you're just as close to death as he is, and with this attack I'll end it for the both of you," said 6-2-7 as he raised his claws, "So how do you plan to make me pay?"

"Kenzo-Fuerga!" shouted Vandercamp.

With a swipe of his paw 6-2-7 sent three flaming blades straight for Angel and Kioko. But to his surprise, Angel actually smirked and then turned her back to the blades just as Kioko had done. A second later the blades slammed into her in a burst of flame. Angel nearly lost her balance as the blades hit her. Burning pain swept through her body, making her wince, but the pain was quick and a smirk soon reappeared on Angel's face. 6-2-7, once again taken off guard by the move let out a frustrated growl.

"What is it with you two and using your backs to defend? Now you're even more injured than before." shouted 6-2-7.

Angel chuckled. "I don't think so. Look again."

Confused, both 6-2-7 and Vandercamp looked at where the pink experiment's injuries had been. To their surprise the open wounds were now sealed shut. "She used the spell to cauterize her wounds!" shouted Vandercamp in amazement.

"Now that I've managed to give myself a little more time, let's finish this fight the right way shall we?" smirked Angel as she held out a paw and motioned for 6-2-7 to come. But as 6-2-7 let out a frustrated growl, Angel looked back over her shoulder at Kioko. "I'll never leave your side, Kioko. Even if I die, I'll never leave your side." she said softly as another tear rolled down her cheek.

But her words went unheard by Kioko, who now found himself surrounded by darkness. He could still clearly feel the pain of his wound but at the same time he felt numb and cold. It was a feeling he had grown to know after fighting with Cobra. For the third time in one day he was about to die, but it seemed there was no escaping it this time. Knowing this a pain erupted within him that overpowered that of his physical wounds. He was leaving behind his precious Angel; he was leaving her in the hands of that bastard 6-2-7! The thought drove him mad, but there was nothing he could do, he had used up his second chance. A thought suddenly appeared in his mind, a thought that to him made perfect sense. If he couldn't pull through for his friend in her time of need, maybe he should die.

Just then, he felt something. It was faint at first, but slowly it began to grow, a soft warmth that replaced the numbness and made his pain vanish. Soon, he could begin to hear a sound in the distance; like the warm feeling it began to get louder until he found that there wasn't just one sound but many sounds. He could hear… birds and the ocean, and the warmth was now a soothing breeze. Suddenly, he snapped too, opening his eyes slowly he found himself not onboard the "World 1" but somewhere else. It was familiar and yet he had no idea where he was. Finding the burdens of his body gone, Kioko got up to his knees and then to his feet. He was standing at the edge of cliff that seemed to extend to the horizon, with the crystal blue ocean lapping at it's base and a sun that was beginning to sink below the waves. It was beautiful.

"It's been a long time, Kioko." said a heavenly voice from behind that sent chills down Kioko's spine.

He couldn't believe it, had he really just heard the voice that was so deeply engrained in his mind? He was afraid to turn around and look to see if it was true or not. But finally he got up the nerve to turn around; his heart stopped the moment he did. His jaw fell agape as he found himself looking upon the woman he thought he'd never see again, Michelle. She looked just like he remembered her; so beautiful that he almost forgot to breathe. She was wearing a silky white dress and a smile that would sooth the most savage beast.

"It can't be." blurted Kioko in disbelief.

The woman gave a playful sigh and placed a hand on her hip. "Now is that any way to greet your girlfriend?"

"I can't… I can't believe it's you." Kioko said, as he looked her up and down.

She smiled. "Well believe it. It's really me," Michelle walked gracefully over to Kioko and ran her fingers through his hair, "I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. Missed you like you wouldn't believe!" shouted Kioko enthusiastically as he quickly embraced her. Suddenly, he began to break out into tears followed by small sobs. "I'm so sorry," he said in a shaky voice, "I'm so sorry I let you go."

The girl placed her hand on the back of his head as he tried to hide his face in her shoulder. "Why are you apologizing? You have nothing to feel sorry for."

"If it hadn't been for my weakness you'd still be alive. That's why I'm apologizing."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Michelle as she lifted Kioko's head and held him so they were face to face, "Your strength had nothing to do with my death. I know you tried as hard as you could and that's all that matters. It was just my time, Kioko."

"No, no… I could have done something. I know I could have I just…" stuttered Kioko before Michelle placed her finger on his lips.

"You did all that you needed to do. You tried to save me and even though I died, I died knowing that you loved me. That's all I needed." she said as she leaned forward and placed her forehead on his. "You gave me all the help I needed, and now there is someone else in need of it."

Kioko suddenly remembered Angel and the fight with 6-2-7. But at the same time his feelings of uselessness came rushing back, covering the beautiful moment in a cloud of sorrow. "How can I help her, I'm dead?"

"You're not dead yet. There is still a great deal you can do for her."

At the same time Angel was getting into a defensive position, still waiting for 6-2-7's attack. But the cone-headed experiment just stood his ground and laughed amusingly. "This is ridiculous," shouted 6-2-7 between laughs, "You really expect to fight me?"

"I'll do whatever is necessary." replied Angel.

6-2-7 stopped laughing and assumed a calm demeanor. "That's very brave of you, 6-2-4. But I'm afraid my patience has run out. I don't want to waste my time on a half dead experiment. I've got to catch up with 6-2-6, so I'll end this in one blow."

"You keep saying that but it still hasn't happened. Don't get ahead of yourself." said Angel in a taunting tone.

6-2-7 just blew it off while Vandercamp flipped over a few pages in the spell book and read out loud: "Toruga-Fuerga!"

The evil experiment's fist became engulfed in flames similar to Stitch's "Punchito" spell. Then, without any warning, he charged toward Angel with his burning fist cocked back. Angel crossed her arms in front of her face just as 6-2-7 threw his punch. The force of the attack caused Angel slide backward but she managed to stay on her feet.

"Like what," asked Kioko as he looked away from Michelle, "How can I do anything for her when my life is hanging by a thread?"

"This isn't like you. What happened to the Kioko who would never give up in a million years?"

Kioko was silent for a moment but then looked back at Michelle and said: "He's dead already," Michelle just closed her eyes and shook her head, "Besides, Angel was my second chance and I still failed her. I couldn't help her if I wanted to."

"I don't believe that," blurted Michelle as she got right up into Kioko's face, "You can do anything and if you don't believe that then you are an idiot."

Kioko was silent once again as he stared into Michelle's magnificent eyes. But they couldn't pull his mind away from the truth. "I've failed her and I failed you. There is no reason for me to live."

Suddenly, from out of the blue, Michelle took his head in her hands and locked her lips onto his passionately. Kioko was taken off guard at first, but not wanting to miss the chance he began to kiss back. The two remained this way for a few moments, a few wonderful moments, but all too soon Michelle pulled away and the two locked gazes once more.

"You've failed no one but yourself if you give up," said Michelle with a tone that just melted Kioko's sorrow filled heart, "You may think there is no reason to live… but if you just listen you'll hear the only reason you need to live."

6-2-7's fiery spell was slowly burning away at the flesh on Angel's forearms. Sharp pains swept through her body and she could feel herself growing colder and colder. But she just clenched her teeth and bared it all because she wasn't about to let her partner down. She wouldn't give up for any reason.

"Tell me," blurted 6-2-7as he pushed his fist harder, "Why are you fighting so hard to protect that human? He's as good as dead, so why bother?"

"It's because," started Angel as she began pushing back against 6-2-7's attack, "It's because I love him!"

Those words, like a bullet, struck Kioko and knocked him away from that beautiful cliff and straight back to the battle. His eyes snapped open as he clenched the black spell book tightly in his hand. The moment he did, the book exploded in a blast of purple energy that startled everyone and even sent 6-2-7 flying back toward Vandercamp.

The shocked experiment flipped over in mid-air and landed on his feet, starring into the purple energy that now engulfed Angel and Kioko with bewilderment. At the same time Angel felt something weird going on inside her. All of her pain, all of her exhaustion was replaced in an instant by an incredible feeling of power. She glanced down at her paws as her fur bristled with energy and found, to her amazement, that her wounds were healing at an alarming rate. The burns on her forearms disappeared in a second and she could feel the same happening to the wounds on her back.

6-2-7 couldn't believe what he was seeing, but what he saw next shook him to the core. Slowly, with a certain grace, Kioko began to get up, first to his knees and then to his feet. Angel, catching the movement out of the corner of her eye, looked over her shoulder with joyous amazement as the wound on Kioko's back vanished just as hers had.

"How are his wounds healing so quickly," shouted 6-2-7, "What's going on?"

As the maelstrom of energy swirled around him and Angel, Kioko calmly cracked his knuckles and then turned around to face 6-2-7 and Vandercamp. "6-2-7, this is the end of the line," said Kioko in a stern and confident voice, "We will defeat you."

"Where… where did all this power come from? You were almost dead a minute ago!" growled 6-2-7 as he started to become a little uneasy.

"I was almost dead," started Kioko as he looked down at Angel, "But I found a reason to live. I love Angel far too much to let her fall to the likes of you."

Angel's jaw dropped at his words. 'He loves me?' thought Angel as she became entranced by her partner's eyes. Just then she knew that victory was within their reach and so with a confident smile of her own Angel turned to face 6-2-7.

"You think this power is really enough to defeat me? I doubt it!" smirked 6-2-7 defensively.

Kioko opened the black book and held out in front of him. "I think it is more than enough. As a matter of fact I believe we will beat you with one attack!"

Just then the book pulsed with energy, doubling the amount that was swirling around the two friends. The pages of the book suddenly began to flip over on their own as every spell in the book awakened. Finally, the last page of the book flipped over. It was blank at first but then words began to appear and soon the page was filled with the alien writing. Another pulse of energy shook the ground and sent small pieces of rubble flying through the air. Vandercamp even had to cover his face with his arm as more debris became airborne.

Kioko looked down on the page and even though he was surprised by the spells appearance he read it with a stern expression and calm voice. "This will end it, 6-2-7! The final spell! Ion-Basha-Gigarei!"

Angel's face emptied of all expression while she raised her paw up into the air with her palm facing the sky. The purple energy began to spiral into an orb in Angel's paw, growing larger and larger until it was about the size of a basketball. It looked like a basic "Darko" spell, but suddenly it fired straight up into the air. 6-2-7 and Vandercamp watched in confusion as the orb flew higher and higher until it was out of sight. A shockwave of energy suddenly streaked across the sky, blowing away all the clouds in the sky. Then, everything became calm, even the energy around Kioko and Angel vanished. Nothing appeared to be happening and so slowly, 6-2-7 began to chuckle, thinking that their "Final Spell" was a dud.

"It looks like you missed." laughed 6-2-7.

Then, all of a sudden, a loud cracking noise echoed through the area. 6-2-7 and Vandercamp immediately looked back up to the sky. Their jaws dropped as they saw a massive crack stretching across the sky, but panic suddenly over took them as the crack snapped open to reveal a massive eye. It was all black with a blue iris that darted around as if it were looking for something. Even Stitch, Lilo, and Victoria, who were on an escape ship a good distance from "World 1", were shocked by its appearance.

"What the heck is that thing?" shouted Victoria

"I have no idea." responded Lilo.

"It's a spell." blurted Stitch as he stared up at the apparition. 'I really hope it's yours, Angel.' thought Stitch.

Just then, the eyes piercing gaze fell upon 6-2-7 and Vandercamp. The eye began to dilate as multi colored energy began to spiral into its center. "Goodbye, 6-2-7." said Kioko as the eye suddenly contracted, sending a massive, multi colored beam blasting straight for 6-2-7 and Vandercamp.

"Oh no you don't!" shouted 6-2-7 as he lifted his paw toward the beam. "Vandercamp, use the Dioga-Scikoruk!"

Vandercamp nodded and summoned the spell. A split second later 6-2-7 fired the orange blast of energy on an intercept course with the approaching beam. But to his horror, the eye's beam blasted through his attack without even slowing down. And in the next moment the beam slammed into 6-2-7 and Vandercamp head on. The evil experiment tried to hold on as he clenched his teeth in pain, but it was no use. With a painful yell 6-2-7 and Vandercamp disappeared into a blinding flash of light that engulfed the entire ship. Stitch and the girls had to look away as the light grew brighter and brighter. Then as fast as it had appeared the light faded, but as the friends began to look back the sound of a tremendous explosion reached their ears. They looked toward the ship to find it covered in a massive fireball. All three of their hearts sank as they watched the ship disintegrate into countless pieces.

The shock wave from the explosion suddenly hit their small ship and sent the three friends tumbling to the deck. The shock wave passed after a moment and the three got back on their feet and looked once more toward the smoldering wreckage that was now sinking into the sea.

"Oh my god." said Victoria in a fearful and worried tone.

Lilo slowly began to shake her head in disbelief. "Kioko and Angel they… they were still on board that thing."

"Maybe they survived!" blurted Victoria trying to find some hope.

Stitch just shook his head. "I don't think so," said Stitch in a solemn voice, "Not even an experiment could survive a blast that powerful."

Victoria opened her mouth to speak but was silenced by the bitter realization that they had just lost two more allies. Even the fact that 6-2-7 was most assuredly defeated failed to cast any sort of happiness. The price for victory was too great for them to enjoy it. Now, as they watched the remains of the ship slip beneath the waves, they all wondered to themselves… was it a victory at all?

**That's the end! That's the end of this story! I hope you've enjoyed it. And sorry for this chapter's length. Anyway, there will be one more story in this series. But it won't be out for awhile. I want to post the next story in my main series, which will reveal the series new title! Well thanks for reading and please comment.**


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